LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


THE   LIFE 


OF 


CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK 


WITH  A    BRIEF  SKETCH 
OF 

JOHN    A.     BROOKS 


BY 

ALPHONSO   A.   HOPKINS. 


NEW   YORK: 
FUNK    &    WAGNALLS, 

1 8    AND    20   ASTOR    PLACE. 

1888. 
All  Rights  Reserved. 

LIBRARY     ' 

TTXTTTTTT'T-,  OT^-T^     ^, 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1888,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PRESS  OF 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 
18  and  20  Astor  Place, 

NEW  YORK. 


MRS.    JEANNETTE    CRIPPEN    FISK 

—  AND  — 

MRS.    MARY    FISK    PARK, 

THE 

8{Pottf)j>  SSPife  anD  Baujjl)tec 

OF 

CLINTON   B.  FISK, 

WHO  HAVE  so  TENDERLY  AND  LOYALLY  HELPED  HIM  TO 
HELP  MANKIND 

X  Betrtcatr 

THE    SIMPLE    STORY   OF   A    LIFE    THEY    LOVE. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1888,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


PRESS  or 

FUNK  &   WAGNAL.LS, 
18  and  20  Astor  Place, 

NEW  YORK. 


MRS.    JEANNETTE   CRIPPEN    FISK 


MRS.    MARY    FISK    PARK, 

THE 

CSJottfti?  338fife  anU  Hiauflfcter 

OF 

CLINTON  B.  FISK, 

WHO  HAVE  so  TENDERLY  AND  LOYALLY  HELPKD  HIM  TO 
HELP  MANKIND 


THE    SIMPLE    STORY    OF    A    LIFE    THEY    LOVE. 


Love  cradled  in  a  cabin  of  the  West, 

The  babe  to  boyhood's  hunger  quickly  grew. 
And  hungered,  thirsted,  for  the  things  they  kneio 

Who  passed  luith  men  as  wise  ;  and  in  his  breast 

There  throbbed  a  longing,  always  unexpressed, 
To  stand  some  day  upon  the  world's  far  blue 
Horizon,  'mid  the  great,  the  strong,  the  true 

The  world  might  honor,  as  an  honored  guest. 

The  boy  to  manhood  built  his  stature  well, — 
Of  truth  and  courage,  purity  and  grace  ; 

TJie  mother1  s  love  clung  round  him  like  a  spell, 
And  calm-eyed  Duty  gave  him  lofty  place, 

Till  fame's  fair  garland  on  his  forehead  fell, 
And  gladly  great,  and  strong,  and  true,  did  greet  his  face. 


PBEFACE. 


WRITING  the  life  of  a  living  man  has  its  embarrass 
ments.  I  realized  this  fact  when  the  publishers  asked 
me  to  prepare  a  biography  of  General  Fisk  ;  I  realize  it 
yet  more  keenly  as  now  I  send  these  final  though  first 
pages  to  press.  Yet,  if  my  task  has  been  rather  a  diffi 
cult  and  embarrassing  one,  it  has  been  at  the  same  time 
agreeable — to  the  biographer  ;  and  its  ample  compensa 
tion  has  come  through  the  nearer  acquaintance  made 
with  a  ripe  character,  the  satisfaction  found  in  close 
study  of  manly  motives  and  unselfish  acts,  and  the  re 
ward  of  a  strong  friendship,  grown  to  full  stature 
through  these  months  of  more  intimate  contact  and  more 
perfect  trust. 

I  have  not  sought  in  the  following  chapters  to  be 
rhetorical,  analytical,  philosophical,  or  elaborate.  My 
one  purpose  has  been  to  tell,  in  simple,  unadorned  fash 
ion,  the  story  of  a  typical  American  career,  reaching 
from  the  log-house  of  a  pioneer  to  high  places  of  honor, 
from  the  struggles  of  a  boyhood  unblest  by  helpful  sur 
roundings  to  the  rounded  successes  of  a  manhood  richly 
helpful  to  Church  and  State.  It  should  be  a  source  of 
inspiration  to  all  men,  that  lives  like  this  are  possible  in 
our  country  ;  and  all  men  may  learn  a  lesson  from  the 
fact  that  this  life  has  its  true  sources  of  nobleness  and 
power  in  humble  Christian  faith,  in  devoted  consecration 
to  good  works,  and  in  sincere  loyalty  to  the  principles  of 
right,  and  temperance,  and  truth. 


VI  PREFACE. 

While  seeking  to  avoid  the  tone  of  extravagant  praise, 
I  have  not  cared  to  assume  the  air  of  an  impartial  nar 
rator.  History  is  one  thing,  biography  is  another  ;  and 
though  they  may  be  close  akin,  their  qualities  differ. 
I  suspect  that  the  biographer  should  always  have  sym 
pathetic  partiality  for  his  subject,  in  order  to  the  best 
results. 

It  has  been  thought  fit  and  timely  to  include  within 
these  covers,  also,  a  sketch  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  &. 
Brooks.  That  it  is  so  comparatively  brief  and  incom 
plete  may  be  accredited  to  the  fact  that  mainly  this  vol 
ume  was  not  proposed  for  campaign  uses,  but  as  one  of 
a  standard  series  for  permanent  sale. 

A.  A.  H. 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  July,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

SONNET xi 

CLINTON   BOWEN  FISK. 

CHAPTER  I. 
ANTECEDENTS  AND  BIRTHPLACE 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  SURROUNDINGS 9 

CHAPTER  III. 
EARLY  BOYHOOD  IN  MICHIGAN 14 

CHAPTER  IV. 
AT  THE  DEACON'S  AND  AFTERWARD 21 

CHAPTER  V. 
BEARING  THE  BIRNEY  FLAG 28 

CHAPTER  VI. 
STRUGGLES  FOR  AN  EDUCATION 34 

CHAPTER  VII. 
MARRIAGE  AND  BUSINESS  AT  COLDWATER 41 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
DOLLAR  FOR  DOLLAR.  . ,  48 


VI 11  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX.  PAGE 

A  PRIVATE  SOLDIER 55 

CHAPTER  X. 
A  COMMANDER  OF  MEN  61 

CHAPTER  XI. 
SOME  ARMY  INCIDENTS  68 

CHAPTER  XII. 
ADMINISTRATION  AMONG  GUERILLAS 75 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
PROTECTING  THE  CAPITAL 82 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
AN  ARMY  STORY  AND  THE  SEQUEL 89 

CHAPTER  XV. 
RECONSTRUCTING  SOCIETY 94 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  FREEDMAN'S  FRIEND 101 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
AIDING  COLORED  EDUCATION 108 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  SINGERS 114 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
FISK  UNIVERSITY 120 

CHAPTER  XX. 
As  A  RAILROAD  FINANCIER  , .  126 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER   XXI.  PAGE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  INDIAN  COMMISSION  .    134 

CHAPTER   XXII. 
SOME  TROUBLED  DAYS 142 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
CHURCH  ACTIVITIES 147 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 
CENTENNIAL  SPEECH  UPON  MISSIONS 159 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
PARTY  AND  PROHIBITION 169 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
His  NEW  JERSEY  CAMPAIGN 181 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  AND  CALUMNY 189 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 
THE  NATURAL  RESULTS 198 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN 208 

CHAPTER   XXX. 
INEVITABLE  LEADERSHIP 218 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 
NOMINATED  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY 227 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
AT  HIS  SEABRIGHT  HOME 238 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.  PAGE 

WORDS  OP  PATRIOTISM 249 

LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. . .  .260 


JOHN  ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH 269 

CHAPTER  II. 
PASTOR  AND  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT 276 

CHAPTER  III. 
MASTER  WORKMAN  AND  PROHIBITION  LEADER 283 

CHAPTER   IV. 
NOMINATED  FOR  THE  VICE-PRESIDENCY.  . .  .  292 


LIFE   OF 

CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANTECEDENTS  AND  BIRTHPLACE. 

IN  the  town  of  Killingly,  Conn. ,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  last  decade  of  the  last  century,  the  beloved  wife 
of  Ephraim  Fisk  gave  birth  to  four  babes.  There  were 
two  boys  and  two  girls,  and  all  lived,  but  the  mother 
paid  for  such  uncommon  maternity  the  tribute  of  her 
life. 

To  these  four  thriving  orphans  gossip  lent  four  indica 
tive  names  —  Wonderful,  Marvellous,  Miraculous, 
Strange.  Other  cognomen  came  in  due  time — Samuel, 
David,  Deborah,  Miriam  —  more  biblical,  because 
Ephraim  Fisk  was  a  deacon  of  the  church  and  a  lover  of 
the  Book  ;  but  people  yet  lived  in  Killingly,  not  many 
years  ago,  who  could  recall  the  quadruple  birth  which 
proved  a  neighborhood  wonder,  and  the  appellations 
which  that  simple-hearted  community  bestowed. 

With  four  such  infants  to  care  for,  and  two  other 
motherless  children  who  needed  care,  the  father  had 
ample  reason  to  seek  another  wife.  Character  and  cir 
cumstances  commending  him,  he  found  her,  and  brought 
her  duly  to  his  home.  She  bore  ten  children,  giving 
him,  all  told,  the  paternity  of  sixteen.  The  youngest  of 


2  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

her  brood  was  Benjamin  Bigford,  named  partly  after 
herself,  who,  grown  to  manhood,  married  Lydia  Aldrich, 
and  became  the  father  of  six  sons. 

There  were  two  strains  of  the  Fisk  family  in  New 
England  three  generations  back— the  Connecticut  Fisks 
and  the  Massachusetts  Fisks.  Some  branches  spelled  the 
name  as  here  written,  and  others  added  a  final  e.  All 
were  of  Lincolnshire  ancestry,  and  all  dated  their  record 
back  to  about  the  year  1700. 

In  the  county  of  Lincoln,  on  the  east  coast  of  Eng 
land,  one  of  the  mightiest  movements  in  all  church  his 
tory  had  its  genesis  ;  and  Lincolnshire  has  been  spoken 
of  as  the  remote  parent  of  our  own  Republic.  From 
that  royal  habitat  of  conscience,  conviction,  and  courage 
in  the  Mother  Land,  New  England  drew  much  of  her 
linest  Christian  fibre,  her  undying  manly  spirit.  It  was 
natural  that  John  Fiske,  father  of  Ephraim,  should  take 
up  the  sword,  and  wield  it  so  well  as  to  become  a  major- 
general.  It  was  not  less  natural,  perhaps,  that  Ephraim, 
dying  at  fourscore,  should  be  mourned  by  those  about 
him  as  a  peacemaker  and  a  gentle  man  of  God.  Nor 
was  it  strange  that  Wilbur  Fisk,  another  of  John's  de 
scendants  and  first  cousin  of  Benjamin  B.,  should  leave 
strong  impress  upon  later  generations  as  a  profound  theo 
logian  and  President  of  the  Wesleyan  University  at 
Middletown.  Ecclesiastical  and  military  tastes  appear 
to  have  blended  quite  harmoniously  in  the  Fisk  blood, 
even  until  now. 

John  Fiske,  born  in  old  Salem,  Mass.,  April  10th, 
1744,  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  major-general  in  1792, 
was  a  naval  officer  during  the  Revolution,  and  com 
manded  the  first  vessel  commissioned  by  Massachusetts, 
the  u  Tyrannicide."  He  took  part  in  many  combats, 
and  was  placed  in  command  of  the  State  ship  "  Massa- 


ANTECEDENTS   AND   BIRTHPLACE.  3 

chusetts  "  December  10th,  1777.  Afterward  lie  engaged 
in  commerce,  became  wealthy,  and  wielded  wide  influ 
ence.  But  while  his  early  life  was  of  the  sanguinary 
sort,  his  father  was  a  clergyman — ~Rev.  Samuel  Fiske — 
and  his  son  Ephraim,  as  has  been  intimated,  had  the 
fervent  spirit  of  simple  Christian  faith,  and  devoted  him 
self  to  promoting  neighborly  fellowship  and  establishing 
neighborhood  peace.  The  name  of  Fisk,  indeed,  has 
been  long  and  closely  identified  with  church  work  and 
religious  effort,  though  often  found  in  the  annals  of  war. 
Dr.  Ezra  Fisk  was  a  conspicuous  Presbyterian  divine  ; 
Pliny  Fisk  went  as  a  missionary  of  that  church  to  Syria, 
and  died  there  ;  Nathan  Fisk  was  a  Congregational  min 
ister  of  high  repute  ;  Nathan  Welby  Fisk,  his  son,  be 
came  a  theological  teacher  at  Andover  ;  and  a  younger 
Samuel  Fisk,  better  known  by  his  nom  de  plume  "  Dunn 
Brown,"  left  the  pulpit  for  a  soldier's  work  during  our 
late  war,  and  in  that  service  gave  his  life.  In  the  line 
of  letters,  too,  the  Fisks  have  been  eminent,  giving  to 
literature  Dr.  Willard  Fiske,  and  Professor  John  Fiske, 
and  Helen  Hunt  Jackson,  daughter  of  Professor  Nathan 
Welby  Fisk. 

Early  branches  of  the  family  in  this  country  seem  to 
have  been  well  off  in  worldly  goods,  as  likewise  well 
endowed  with  educational  and  religious  tendencies. 
Ephraim  and  his  brother  Isaac  were  graduates  of  Brown 
University,  and  therefore  had  advantages  which  at  that 
time  only  the  wealthier  class  enjoyed.  Wilbur,  son  of 
Isaac — born  in.  Brattleborough,  Yt.,  1792 — had  opportu 
nities  equal  to  those  given  his  father  and  uncle,  and  gifts 
evidently  superior  to  theirs,  or  ambition  greater.  But 
Benjamin  B.  was  less  fortunate.  Perhaps  those  sixteen 
children  consumed  unduly  of  his  father's  substance  ;  it 
may  have  melted  away  in  bad  business  ventures,  or  losses 


4  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

by  fire  and  flood.  There  was  not  much  money,  at  any 
rate,  in  the  household  where  Benjamin  B.  grew  up,  and 
no  college  course  awaited  him  outside.  His  chief  inher 
itance  was  that  so  common  among  Americans — hard 
work,  and  strength  and  will  to  do  it.  Largely  he  must 
make  his  own  future,  with  little  help  of  the  schools,  and 
unhelped  by  paternal  hands.  His  education  was  barely 
sufficient  for  the  common  need  of  a  mechanic's  career, 
on  which  he  early  set  out. 

Killingly  was  arid  is  a  township  of  Windham  County, 
twenty-eight  miles  northeast  of  Norwich,  and  not  farther 
from  Providence.  It  borders  on  the  Rhode  Island  line, 
and  forms  a  part  of  some  rather  sterile  country  not  re 
markable  for  wealth-making  possibilities.  It  is  not  now 
agriculturally  productive  in  high  degree  ;  and  though 
manufacturing  interests  have  changed  that  region  much 
since  the  first  decades  of  our  century,  it  may  be,  even 
yet,  as  then  it  surely  was,  less  fruitful  of  material  for 
tune  than  of  genuine  manhood.  To  Rhode  Island  many 
went  who  craved  religious  liberty,  when  elsewhere  it 
did  not  so  much  abound,  and  who  saw  in  the  pure  demo 
cratic  government  of  that  miniature  State  our  true 
American  idea  realized  ;  and  with  like  feeling  and  spirit 
many  located  in  Eastern  Connecticut,  where  Rhode 
Island  impulses  were  dominant,  and  for  topographical, 
religious,  and  patriotic  reasons  made  Providence  their 
central  rally  ing- point.  But  as  years  passed,  and  popula 
tion  multiplied,  the  region  held  less  of  promise  for  each 
young  man  and  woman  within  it,  and  the  eyes  of  some 
turned  wistfully  to  the  West. 

Benjamin  Fisk,  through  boyhood  and  youth  inured  to 
labor,  had  learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith,  and  wanted 
to  ply  it  on  some  more  lucrative  field.  Lydia  Aldrich, 
grown  from  girlhood  to  the  same  narrow  chances  which 


ANTECEDENTS   AND    BIRTHPLACE.  5 

in  Killingly  were  his,  and  having  linked  her  life  with  his 
own,  was  willing  with  him  to  seek  the  wider  field  of  his 
desire.  Killingly  born  and  bred,  she  came  of  Welsh 
descent,  and  in  her  veins  yet  flowed  somewhat  of  the 
sturdy  faith,  the  heroic  courage,  and  the  unfailing  will 
which  her  ancestors  knew.  Her  nature  was  deep, 
womanly,  tender.  Certain  gifts  of  poetic  insight  must 
have  been  hers,  allied  with  superior  practical  traits. 
Giving  heart  and  hand  to  the  young  and  ambitious  artisan 
who  won  both,  she  therewith  gave  to  him  a  companion 
ship  of  the  best  womanly  type,  and  to  his  children  a 
motherhood  sweet,  uplifting,  beneficent,  with  a  disposi 
tion  wherein  native  paternal  severity  was  mellowed  by 
maternal  tenderness. 

Hopeful  and  eager,  ardent  of  belief  in  the  better  op 
portunities  which  a  new  country  would  afford,  in  the  fall 
of  1822  Benjamin  and  Lydia,  with  Cyrus  B.  and  Leander, 
their  baby  boys,  left  Killingly  for  Livingston  County, 
N.  Y.  Other  of  Ephraim's  children  had  settled  in 
the  northern  part  of  that  State  ;  kinsfolk  of  Lydia  had 
preceded  them  to  the  same  locality  whither  they  went  ;  it 
was  not  an  untried  thing  for  people  to  migrate  ;  yet  this 
journey  of  the  young  Puritans  might  well  enough  have 
appeared  momentous.  It  was  surely  a  great  journey  for 
those  times.  Eastern  Connecticut  was  then  as  far  from 
Western  New  York  as  Alaska  from  Maine  to-day. 
Western  New  York  was  "  on  the  frontier."  Railroads 
were  undreamed  of.  The  Erie  Canal  did  not  exist. 
Livingston  County  was  but  the  recent  haunt  of  Red 
Stocking  and  his  dusky  race.  It  was  all  "  the  Genesee 
country,"  in  popular  parlance,  west  of  the  river  Gene- 
see,  until  Niagara's  foaming  border  line.  Men  came  to 
it  as  settlers,  lured  by  the  beauties  of  a  region  rich  in 
Indian  romance,  agriculturally  fertile,  and  full  of  prom- 


6  LIFE   OF   CLIHTON1   BOWEtf   FISK. 

ise.  But  to  steady-going,  home-staying  New  Englanders 
it  seemed  the  edge  of  the  world. 

You  will  search  far  to  find  a  more  lovely  valley  than 
that  of  the  upper  Genesee,  across  which  Geneseo,  from 
the  eastern  slope,  looks  westward  with  serene  content. 
There  lived  the  elder  Wadsworth,  like  some  feudal  lord, 
who  held  in  fee  vast  areas  round  about,  his  broad  estate 
comprising  part  of  the  original  Phelps  and  Gorham  Pur 
chase  from  Massachusetts,  obtained  when  that  section  of 
New  England  had  right  to  sell  a  portion  of  New  York. 
There  lives  to-day  a  Wadsworth  of  the  third  generation, 
still  holding  much  of  the  old  family  manor  intact.  In 
that  fair  domain,  before  any  Wadsworth  came  to  title- 
ship,  the  Six  Nations  had  their  Council  House,  and 
across  the  upper  Genesee  their  favorite  trails  were  made. 
There  dwelt  Mary  Jemison,  "  the  white  woman,"  on 
lands  conferred  by  the  natives  with  whom  she  cast  her 
lot.  It  was  an  inviting  locality  to  which  migrated  Ben 
jamin  Fisk  and  Lydia,  and  in  which  they  established 
themselves.  The  valley's  breadth  was  beautiful  then  as 
now — its  flat  bottoms  thickly  wooded  where  the  river 
wound  along,  its  rolling  uplands  lifting  gently  above 
them  and  adding  to  the  landscape  a  varied  charm — while 
farther  south  its  narrower  sweep  grew  yet  more  pictu 
resque,  until  at  Portage  Falls  heroic  grandeur  wore  con 
summate  grace,  and  wed  itself  to  legend  and  to  song. 

Where  the  valley  is  broadest,  counting  bottoms  and 
uplands  both,  in  the  midst  of  rare  pastoral  loveliness  and 
surrounded  by  uncommon  wealth  of  historic  association, 
stood  and  stands  a  little  hamlet  known  then  as  Clapp's 
Corners,  called  Greigsville  now.  Its  first  settler  was 
Ellis  Clapp,  who  married  an  aunt  of  Lydia  Fisk,  and 
whose  son,  Amos  Clapp,  was  long  time  Government 
Printer  at  Washington.  Three  miles  above  York,  from 


ANTECEDENTS   AND    BIRTHPLACE.  7 

which  the  township  takes  its  name,  and  five  miles  below 
Geneseo,  Livingston's  county-seat,  it  was  the  natural 
centre  of  quite  a  territory  contiguous,  and  offered  to  one 
of  Benjamin  Fisk's  avocation  steady  employment  and 
fair  pay.  There  he  located,  and  there  he  led  a  busy  life 
of  varied,  vigorous  activities.  He  was  blacksmith, 
wagon-builder,  and  general  mechanic  for  the  country 
round.  Muscular  and  willing,  equipped  with  a  fine 
physique,  he  did  not  shrink  from  hard  toil.  His  shops 
became  the  source  of  mechanical  supply  for  farmers  all 
up  and  down  the  valley,  and  their  proprietor  soon  ac 
quired  local  repute  as  a  man  of  intelligence,  enterprise, 
and  character.  He  took  rank  as  captain  in  the  militia, 
and  was  deferred  to  as  a  leading  spirit  in  town  affairs. 
A  contract,  still  in  existence,  which  he  drew,  and  which, 
with  others,  as  a  trustee,  he  executed,  for  building  a 
school-house  in  the  town  of  York,  shows  that  he  could 
put  language  on  paper  with  precision,  and  that  he  pos 
sessed  good  business  sense.  The  fact  that  his  colleagues 
appointed  him  to  draw  such  an  instrument  shows  that 
they  had  confidence  in  his  ability  and  good  judgment. 

The  hamlet  did  not  grow  ;  there  was  no  special  reason 
why  it  should.  It  is,  indeed,  no  larger  now  than  fifty 
years  ago  ;  and  the  marvel,  when  one  sees  it,  is  how 
anything  can  be  so  very  small  of  its  age.  But  the  Fisk 
household  increased,  and  household  requirements  multi 
plied.  Two  more  boys,  "Welcome  V.  and  Horace  A., 
made  glad  the  father's  heart  and  kept  active  the  mother's 
hands.  The  name  of  one  bespoke  the  reception  of  each, 
yet  both  added  burdens  of  care  and  need.  Mistress 
Lydia  bore  her  part  in  providing  for  family  wants.  She 
washed  wool  and  spun  yarn  and  wove  cloth.  She  did 
whatever  she  could.  She  was  the  helpmeet  essential, 
amid  surroundings  like  theirs. 


8  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEtf   FISK. 

Then  Captain  Fisk  was  called  on,  it  is  said,  for  some 
service  in  connection  with  the  Erie  Canal — contempt 
uously  alluded  to  often,  in  those  days,  as  "  Clinton's 
Ditch."  What  that  service  was  cannot  be  verified,  and 
whether  any  service  was  rendered  is  open  to  doubt,  for 
the  Erie  Canal  ran  full  thirty  miles  from  Clapp's  Corners, 
and  Captain  Fisk's  labors  were  confined  there  ;  but  if 
he  had  no  part  in  the  making  of  that  water-way,  as  is 
the  probable  fact,  he  somehow  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Governor  DeWitt  Clinton,  or  grew  to  know  much  about 
and  greatly  to  admire  him,  perhaps  to  think  him  their 
friend.  So  when  a  fifth  boy  came  to  the  Fisk  domicile, 
in  witness  of  regard  for  the  governor,  and  borrowing 
from  the  mother's  family  tree,  they  called  him  Clinton 
Bowen. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  SURROUNDINGS. 

CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK  was  born  December  8th,  1828. 
Clapp's  Corners  had  not  a  dozen  houses,  and  none  of 
them  was  pretentious.  The  home  in  which  Clinton 
first  saw  light  was  not  the  birthplace  of  his  youngest 
brothers.  Two  streets,  forming  a  country  cross-roads, 
comprised  the  hamlet ;  and  the  Fisks  originally  located 
on  the  road  running  north  and  south — the  same  which, 
continued  three  fourths  of  a  mile  farther  up  the  valley, 
toward  Geneseo,  in  like  manner  formed  and  still*forms 
part  of  another  small  settlement,  known  as  Greigsville 
then,  called  now  South  Greigsville.  Before  Clinton's 
advent  they  changed  to  a  lot  on  the  road  running  east 
and  west,  about  forty  rods  west  of  the  four  corners. 

The  site  they  chose  there  was  very  charming.  It  was 
on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  facing  the  upper  Gene- 
see's  blue  southern  boundary  line,  some  twenty  odd  miles 
away.  The  river  itself  cannot  be  seen  from  this  point, 
since  it  is  two  miles  distant,  and  hidden  by  a  rise  in  the 
upland  on  the  east  ;  but  wide  reaches  of  intervale  stretch 
magnificently  southward,  and  end  in  a  lofty  range  of 
hills  belting  the  southern  sky  from  west  to  east.  Half  a 
mile  farther  west,  up  the  valley's  gentle  western  slope, 
the  view  sweeps  unobstructed  over  this  depression  in  the 
upland,  over  the  ridge  beyond,  over  the  fertile  Genesee 
flats,  and  traverses  not  less  than  forty  miles  of  eastern 
horizon  dotted  with  farm  buildings  and  village  groups. 


10  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEtf   FISK. 

Half  a  mile  eastward,  on  the  upland  ridge,  one  com 
mands  the  same  far-reaching  prospect,  with  a  western 
background,  if  he  turn  to  note  it,  only  less  captivating, 
where  sleep  the  twin  hamlets  of  Greigsville  in  a  minor 
valley  of  their  own,  and  covet  nothing  more. 

The  house  to  which  Benjamin  Fisk  removed  Lydia 
and  their  four  boys,  and  which  was  hallowed  soon  with 
the  sacredness  of  a  new  maternity,  was  built  for  unhal 
lowed  purposes.  Before  the  Fisks  converted  it  into  a 
domicile  it  was  a  distillery — one  of  those  modest  manu 
factories  of  liquid  death  so  common  in  our  country  sixty 
years  gone  by.  Its  conversion  to  better  uses  can  be 
credited  to  no  spirit  of  local  reform,  for  there  were  few 
temperance  reformers  then,  and  Benjamin  Fisk  was  not 
one  of  those  few.  Perhaps  the  distillery  did  not  pay. 
Larger  affairs  may  have  rendered  its  product  unprofit 
able.  As  a  distillery  it  must  have  been  small  ;  as  a  resi 
dence  it  was  not  large.  Eighteen  by  twenty-two  feet 
at  the  most,  and  but  one  story  high,  it  could  not  have 
contained  more  than  three  or  four  rooms,  and  small  ones 
at  that.  It  is  standing  yet,  in  habitable  preservation, 
and  belongs  to  the  Delaware  and  Lackawanna  Railroad 
Company,  whose  thoroughfare  cuts  clean  across  the 
original  five-acre  lot  on  which  the  house  was  built.  Its 
batten  sidings  have  never  seen  paint,  and  look  weather 
worn,  though  they  are  not  the  same  which  covered  the 
frame  at  first.  It  has  grown  half  a  story  in  height  since 
Mistress  Lydia  made  it  homelike,  and  a  small  wing  has 
been  added  on  the  west  end. 

On  a  summer's  day  in  1884  General  Fisk  went  to  see 
it.  He  had  never  been  back  to  his  birthplace  since  car 
ried  away  in  his  mother's  arms.  The  discovery  of  salt- 
fields  in  that  neighborhood,  and  a  certainty  that  the 
whole  region  was  underlaid  by  salt  beds,  had  set  specu- 


PARENTAGE   AtfD   EARLY   SURROTODIKGS.  11 

lation  rampant.  Sharp  bargainers  were  going  about 
leasing  or  buying,  under  various  pretences,  all  the  land 
thought  available  for  salt-producing  purposes.  With  a 
friend  the  general  sought  out  old  residenters,  whose 
recollections  might  run  farthest  back.  Two  sisters  were 
cited — maiden  ladies  by  the  name  of  Tuttle,  living 
alone  ;  and  he  called  upon  them.  But  when  General 
Fisk  began  his  neighborhood  inquiries,  explaining  that 
here  was  his  birthplace,  the  elder  sister  interrupted  him. 

"  You  needn't  come  around  making  believe  any  such 
thing,"  with  quick  asperity  she  said.  "  I  know  all  you 
salt  speculators,  and  what  you're  after.  You'd  like  to 
get  our  land,  but  you  can't  have  it.  We  won't  sell  it 
or  lease  it  to  you  at  any  price,  and  you  might  just  as 
well  go  along. " 

General  Fisk's  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous  was  excited, 
and  he  greatly  enjoyed  her  remarks.  Her  harsh  and  sus 
picious  mood  melted  soon,  however,  as  he  went  on  to  estab 
lish  his  identity  and  prove  his  errand,  and  she  said  at  last  : 

"  Yes,  I  remember  the  morning  you  were  born.  I 
remember  rocking  the  cradle,  with  you  in  it,  months 
afterward,  when  your  mother  went  out  to  weave  some 
full-cloth  at  a  neighbor's  on  the  hill.  You  had  a  good 
mother.  Step  to  the  door  with  me,  and  I  will  show  you 
the. very  house  where  she  lived." 

It  was  duly  pointed  out,  not  far  up  the  street,  and 
then  they  sat  down  again  to  inquiry  and  reminiscence. 
Presently,  and  picking  up  a  church  journal  lying  on  the 
centre-table,  the  lady  asked  : 

"  Are  you  the  General  Fisk  this  paper  tells  about  ? — 
the  one  who  is  so  much  of  a  temperance  man  ?" 

The  general  recognized  his  own  denominational  organ, 
and  answered  : 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  1  am." 


12  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEK   FISK. 


/'  she  went  on,  giving  a  little  chuckle  character 
istic  of  her,  "  I  don't  know  as  I  ought  to  tell  you,  but  the 
truth  is,  your  father  wasn't  just  the  sort  of  man  you  are.  " 

u  Do  you  mean  that  he  did  not  believe  in  temper 
ance  ?"  asked  the  general. 

"  Not  exactly  that,"  was  her  hesitating  reply  ;  "  but 
he  wasn't  just  like  you  ;"  and  she  chuckled  again. 
"  lie  would  drink  sometimes." 

u  Didn't  have  a  monopoly  of  that  sort  of  thing,  did 
he  ?"  the  general  inquired. 

"  Oh,  no,  not  a  bit  of  it  !"  she  made  haste  to  say, 
punctuating  with  a  chuckle  as  she  ran  on.  "  'Most 
everybody  drank  then,  and  your  father  was  in  the  mili 
tary,  you  know  ;  and  on  training  days  and  Fourth  of 
July  he  drank.  But  he  was  a  good  man  and  a  first- 
class  mechanic,  and  a  man  of  influence." 

She  has  borne  similar  testimony  since,  with  more  free 
dom  of  expression,  perhaps,  than  in  the  general's  pres 
ence  she  could  feel  ;  and  she  tells,  with  some  pride,  how 
he  called  to  see  her,  and  what  she  said.  She  insists  that 
Benjamin  Fisk  was  not  a  church-going  or  religious  man  ; 
that  he  seldom  or  never  heard  preaching  while  at  that 
place  save  at  a  funeral,  with  one  droll  exception.  And 
she  chuckles  and  shakes  her  plump  form  more  than  ever 
when  she  recounts  that. 

A  minister  came  along  one  day,  so  her  story  goes, 
who  wanted  his  horse  shod.  He  was  a  Baptist  minister, 
and  he  lived  at  York.  His  church  was  the  nearest  house 
of  worship,  if  at  that  time,  as  is  declared,  their  only 
place  of  religious  meeting,  at  South  Greigsville,  was  a 
school-house.  He  drew  up  beside  the  shops  of  Captain 
Fisk  and  asked  what  would  be  the  charge  for  shoeing  his 
horse  all  round. 

"  Preach  me  a  sermon,   right  there  on   that  horse- 


PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  SURROUNDINGS.      13 

block,"  the  blacksmith  said,  u  and  I'll  do  the  job  and 
not  charge  you  a  cent." 

It  may  be  that  Captain  Fisk  was  more  religious  than 
the  old  lady  admits  ;  it  is  possible  that  he  craved  the 
preacher's  service,  even  at  considerable  cost,  when  close 
to  hand.  Or  he  may  have  possessed  that  swift  sense  of 
humor  for  which  his  son  is  noted,  and  may  have  seized 
upon  the  idea  of  a  wayside  sermon  as  offering  some  ele 
ments  of  sport.  He  shod  the  horse,  and  then  demanded 
his  pay.  The  preacher,  nothing  loth,  mounted  the 
horse-block,  and  solemnly,  deliberately,  set  about  the 
task  of  compensation.  He  chose  a  text,  announced  a 
theme,  divided  and  subdivided  it,  and  went  through 
with  his  exegesis,  argument,  and  application,  as  thor 
oughly  as  if  facing  his  congregation  from  the  pulpit. 
And  so  far  as  known  that  one  auditor  never  repented  his 
bargain.  He  sat  the  sermon  through.  And  if  there  was 
any  joke  in  the  transaction,  it  may  not  have  been  all 
against  the  preacher. 

Whether  religious  and  church-going  or  not,  Benja 
min  Fisk  had  a  creed.  He  was  a  Universalist.  He 
believed  that  all  men  will  be  saved.  He  had  not  held 
to  the  orthodox  faith  of  his  fathers,  to  which  his  good 
wife  still  clung.  Of  a  virile,  unyielding,  rather  severe 
nature,  masterful  and  combative,  he  could  more  easily 
step  outside  the  narrow  lines  of  individual  trust  than 
walk~within  them.  His  temperament,  of  the  more  heroic, 
assertive  order,  grew  rebellious  against  meek  personal  sub 
mission  to  the  personal  requirements  of  orthodox  faith. 
His  dominant  characteristics  may  have  come  from  his 
grandfather,  who  fought  so  bravely  on  the  quarter-deck, 
as  the  dominant  characteristics  of  his  son,  Clinton  B., 
must  have  come  from  his  grandfather,  the  gentle-souled 
peacemaker  of  Killingly,  or  from  the  maternal  side. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY    BOYHOOD   IN    MICHIGAN. 

AFTER  eight  years  of  close  economy  and  hard  work 
at  Clapp's  Corners,  Captain  Fisk  concluded  to  go  farther 
West.  He  was  not  rapidly  getting  ahead,  and  there 
were  the  five  lads  to  think  of  and  provide  for.  Better 
chances  could  be  found,  he  felt  certain  ;  and  in  May, 
1830,  he  sought  them  in  the  new  territory  of  Michigan. 

That  was  a  long  way  from  "  the  Genesee  Country," 
but,  as  compared  with  their  former  removal,  an  easy 
way.  They  went  to  Buffalo  with  teams  ;  from  there 
the  journey  was  by  steamboat  to  Detroit.  Taking  pas 
sage  on  "  the  staunch,  low-pressure  '  William  Peacock,'  ' 
as  described  in  the  handbills  then,  they  encountered  one 
of  the  gales  for  which  Lake  Erie  is  famous,  and  were 
blown  back  into  port.  It  was  a  stormy  passage  through 
out,  and  occupied  nine  days.  Clinton's  older  brothers 
remember  it  well,  and  speak  of  it  in  tones  which  imply 
less  lively  enjoyment  than  might  have  been  expected. 
One  of  them,  Welcome  V.,  came  near  drowning  in  the 
river  at  Detroit,  after  they  reached  there.  Leaving  the 
wharf,  to  see  a  bear- show  opposite,  he  slipped  off  a  log 
and  sank.  As  he  was  disappearing  the  third  time,  a 
sailor  caught  him  with  a  boat-hook  and  drew  him  out. 
Life  was  apparently  gone,  and  the  word  went  round  that 
a  boy  was  drowned.  But  resuscitation  followed,  and 
just  as  Mrs.  Fisk  was  counting  her  children,  to  see  if  the 
reported  loss  was  hers,  the  dripping  lad  was  brought  to 


EARLY   BOYHOOD   Itf   MICHIGAN".  15 

her  arms  still  more  dead  than  alive.  Thus  for  the  wife 
and  mother  Michigan's  first  greeting  had  in  it  trouble 
and  pain,  with  an  outcome  of  great  joy. 

Lenawee  County,  in  southeastern  Michigan,  was  at 
that  time  alluring  many  settlers.  The  river  Raisin 
traversed  it,  upon  the  banks  of  which  occurred  the 
bloody  massacre  of  1813.  It  was  all  a  wilderness  nearly, 
with  wet,  swampy  bottoms,  rich,  wooded  uplands,  and 
Potawatamie  Indians  in  plenty.  These  latter  yet  hung 
about  the  neighborhood,  always  friendly  and  inoffensive, 
but  often  a  nuisance.  Daniel  Porter  had  gone  there 
from  York  a  year  earlier  and  built  a  log-house  two  and 
a  half  miles  north  of  Clinton,  which  was  five  miles  north 
of  the  then  small  village  of  Tecumseh.  Clinton  had 
been  started  and  named  in  1828  by  Alpheus  Kies,  who 
there  and  then  opened  a  log  hotel.  When  Captain  Fisk 
went  to  it,  the  place  had  two  hotels  and  a  blacksmith 
shop,  and  little  else  but  its  name.  It  has  been  said  that 
this  was  given  by  Clinton's  father  in  equal  recognition 
of  the  boy,  Clinton  Fisk,  and  the  governor,  DeWitt 
Clinton  ;  but  such  statement  is  in  part  erroneous.  Kies 
gave  the  name  in  honor  of  New  York's  governor  before 
Captain  Fisk  applied  it  to  his  boy.  It  was  a  mere  coin 
cidence  that  Clinton  Fisk's  boyhood  should  be  spent  in 
the  town  whose  name  he  bore. 

The  Fisks  at  first  moved  into  Daniel  Porter's  house, 
and  lived  there  six  weeks.  Then  they  bought  out  the 
Clinton  blacksmith,  one  Mordy,  locally  known  as  "  the 
bell-maker,"  because  he  made  so  many  bells  for  cattle 
to  wear.  His  log  shop  stood  on  an  acre  lot  upon  the 
east  side  of  the  north  and  south  road,  only  two  lots  re 
moved  from  the  present  home  of  Welcome  Y.  Fisk,  and 
near  the  present  centre  of  Clinton.  Captain  Fisk  had 
spent  about  all  his  ready  money  in  the  transfer  of  family 


16  'LIFE  OF  CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK. 

and  effects,  and  reached  Clinton  with  but  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  left.  They  must  therefore  make  shift  for 
awhile  as  best  they  could,  and  cheerfully  they  did  it. 
To  the  shop  they  added  a  log  and  slab  attachment,  small 
and  rude,  and  there  for  two  years  they  lived,  the  ringing 
anvil  near  at  hand,  the  smoking  forge  equally  close,  the 
wheezy  bellows  puffing  half  the  time  by  day,  and  from 
the  wide-mouthed  chimney  scattering  a  frequent  shower 
of  sparks  by  night.  The  first  recollection  which  abides 
with  General  Fisk  is  of  seeing  his  father  stampede  the 
Indians,  who  often  crowded  into  the  shop  and  annoyed 
him,  by  swinging  a  white-hot  iron  bar  from  the  forge  to 
the  anvil,  so  that  the  blistering  scales  flew  from  it  in  pro 
fusion  and  stung  their  naked  legs.  It  was  his  accidental 
way  of  clearing  out  the  Potawatamies  when  they  became 
too  friendly  and  familiar.  And  it  never  failed. 

Captain  Fisk  got  on  here  more  encouragingly  than 
hitherto.  The  country  was  fast  settling  up.  Several 
men  followed  him  to  Clinton  from  the  township  he  had 
left,  and  the  place  bid  fair  to  thrive.  He  worked  early 
and  late,  ambitious  to  secure  home  and  fortune  for  Lydia 
and  their  six  growing  lads,  another  boy  having  been 
added  to  the  number  since  they  came.  He  managed  to 
buy  eighty  acres  of  wild  land  two  miles  away  and  to 
pay  for  it,  with  the  help  of  some  cloth  which  Lydia 
wove  before  their  removal  and  brought  with  her,  and 
which  proved  valuable  as  an  article  of  exchange  ;  he  also 
built  a  small  frame  house  near  the  shop,  into  which  they 
gladly  and  proudly  went.  Then  the  strong  man  sick 
ened  within  six  months  after  that  better  home  was  his, 
and  when  all  their  prospects  began  to  brighten  and  give 
them  gladder  hope.  Smitten  with  typhus-fever,  the 
result  of  malarious  conditions,  no  doubt,  he  mastered  the 
first  attack  and  was  getting  well,  when  slight  exposure 


EARLY   BOYHOOD   Itf   MICHIGAN".  17 

caused  a  relapse  that  carried  him  off.  This  was  in  1832, 
and  his  remains  were  the  first  which  found  sepulture  in 
the  graveyard  at  Clinton.  A  Methodist  minister,  Elder 
Bangs,  preached  the  funeral  sermon. 

With  her  six  boys  —  one  but  a  mere  babe  —  her  quarter 
section  of  wild  land,  her  shop  and  her  encumbered  new 
home,  Mrs.  Fisk  faced  rather  a  sombre  future.  The 
home  was  given  up,  and  the  land  sold  for  three  hundred 
dollars.  This  money  she  expended  in  erecting  a  frame 
cottage  upon  another  lot,  and  there  she  bravely  strug 
gled  to  keep  her  family  together.  How  busy  and  brave 
she  must  have  been  !  She  kept  boarders,  and  did 
laundry  work,  and  bound  hats  ;  and  still  she  found  time 
to  care  for  the  neighborhood  sick.  All  who  knew  her 
then  and  are  living  now  speak  warmly  of  the  unselfish 
ness  she  exhibited,  the  unfailing  courage  and  noble 
womanliness  that  were  hers.  She  was  loving  and  true 
and  strong. 

When  his  father  died,  Clinton  B.  was  a  chubby  little 
fellow  less  than  four  years  old.  From  his  mother  he 
inherited  a  sunny  disposition,  which  quickly  won  him 
friends.  Sportive,  fun-loving,  and  frank,  he  grew  to  be 
the  village  favorite.  An  eager  thirst  for  knowledge 
early  possessed  him,  and  almost  before  any  one  knew  it 
he  had  learned  to  read.  In  like  self-helpful  way  he 
learned  to  write.  On  a  dry-goods  box  one  day,  in  front 
of  the  village  store,  he  saw  painted  in  compact,  back 
hand  Italic  script  the  address  of 


CLINTON,  Mich., 
Lenawee  Co. 

He  was  captivated  by  the  neat  style  of  lettering,  which 
some  expert  shipping  clerk  had  achieved,  in  the  remote 


18  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BO  WEN   FISK. 

city  of  New  York.  With  impetuous  desire,  Clinton 
sought  the  merchants  named,  and  asked  if  they  would 
sell  him  that  box.  They  would,  but  the  small  price  put 
upon  it  was  quite  beyond  his  reach.  Disappointed  and 
sorrowful,  he  turned  about  to  leave,  but  then  an  alter 
native  suggested  itself.  Would  they  not  sell  him  the 
one  board  on  which  that  pretty  writing  was  ?  Liking 
the  boy,  the  merchants  said  they  would  do  that,  and  that 
he  might  have  it  for  so  much,  or  so  little. 

"  And  will  you  take  pay  in  eggs  ?"  he  further  asked. 

Yes,  they  would  accept  eggs  in  payment. 

"  And  will  you  trust  me  ?"  was  his  final  inquiry. 

They  would  even  do  that.  And  after  the  bargain  was 
thus  closed  he  took  the  coveted  board  and  ran  home 
ward,  big  with  elation,  to  sit  down  and  calculate  how 
long  before  he  could  finish  paying  his  debt  with  the  eggs 
given  him  as  a  premium  for  careful  watching  of  the 
nests  and  gathering  of  their  contents.  Having  patiently 
figured  out  this  problem,  he  set  himself  to  patient  imita 
tion  of  the  backhand  letters,  finding  in  them  more  than 
half  the  alphabet.  The  broad,  smooth  hearthstone  be 
fore  the  ample  fireplace  was  all  the  slate  he  had,  and 
lying  there,  close  to  the  roaring  flames  as  he  could  bear, 
he  practised  writing,  as  days  and  nights  wore  on,  until 
he  mastered  the  style,  and  wrote  it  easily  and  well.  In 
the  same  position  he  studied  DabolPs  "  Arithmetic,"  and 
on  the  same  stone  surface  he  set  down  and  wrought  out 
the  simpler  problems  Daboll  gave.  To  the  heat  of  that 
fireplace  and  another,  so  long  directed  upon  his  young 
head  while  prostrate  he  wrote  and  ciphered,  his  early 
baldness  was  unquestionably  due. 

One  by  one  the  four  boys  older  than  Clinton  were  put 
out  to  live  with  farmers  and  mechanics  in  the  vicinity, 
and  thus  maternal  burdens  grew  less.  Cyrus,  Leander, 


EARLY   BOYHOOD   IN   MICHIGAN.  19 

and  Horace  had  comfortable  homes,  and  fairly  enjoyed 
them  ;  Welcome  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  fiery,  brutal 
Irishman,  and  finally  ran  away  in  self-defence,  and 
much  to  his  advantage,  though  he  did  not  go  far  or  stay 
long.  Their  mother  hoped  that  Clinton  might  be  kept 
with  her,  but  it  seemed  wiser,  at  last,  that  he,  too, 
should  be  making  his  own  way.  Across  the  river  and 
the  river  flats,  beyond  where  Indian  bands  had  often 
camped  since  the  village  began,  in  a  small  log-house 
containing  a  big  chimney,  lived  Deacon  Elijah  Wright. 
It  was  barely  a  mile  from  the  cottage  of  his  mother,  and 
there  it  was  decided  Clinton  should  go. 

He  pleaded  for  the  chance  himself.  But  nine  years 
old  though  he  was,  the  hunger  for  an  education  had 
seized  him  and  would  not  be  satisfied.  Somewhere  and 
somehow  he  must  have  the  school  opportunities  which 
his  hard-working  mother  could  not  afford.  And  though 
he  missed  no  offer  of  a  penny  for  errands  he  could  do, 
and  saved  each  coin  paid  him  toward  the  purpose  he  had 
formed,  there  was  little  prospect  of  success  unless  he 
should  accept  the  proposition  made.  He  heard  it,  in  his 
mother's  kitchen,  his  heart  beating  one  tattoo  within  his 
breast  and  his  heels  beating  another  upon  the  washtub 
whereon  he  sat.  By  the  terms  proposed  he  was  to  live 
with  and  work  for  Deacon  Wright  until  twenty-one 
years  old,  was  to  have  three  months  of  ' '  schooling ' ' 
each  year  for  at  least  four  years,  and  when  "  of  age" 
he  should  be  paid  two  hundred  dollars  in  cash  and  given 
a  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle  and  two  suits  of  clothes.  It 
seemed  a  magnificent  opportunity,  and  much  as  he  loved 
the  good  mother  and  hated  to  leave  her,  he  was  in  a 
tremor  of  fear  lest  she  might  pass  it  by. 

"  O  my  !"  he  ejaculated,  "  such  a  chance  as  that ! 
I'll  go,  mother  !  I'll  go  !" 


20  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN"   FISK. 

And  so  he  settled  it.  Go  he  did  next  day.  There 
was  a  wide,  wide  world  of  knowledge  outreaching  before 
him,  and  he  could  explore  it,  or  so  he  fancied,  from 
those  paths  near  by  which  focused  at  the  deacon' s  farm. 
So  glad  and  grand  a  thing  it  seemed,  this  chance  of  his, 
and  so  glad  and  elate  was  he  as  he  kissed  his  mother 
good-by  at  the  door,  that  looking  back  he  wondered 
why  her  face  grew  swiftly  sad,  and  why  she  put  her 
apron  often  to  her  eyes  till  he  was  out  of  sight. 


CHAPTEK  IY. 


IT  was  but  an  ordinary  pioneer  home  to  which  this 
hungry  lad  so  gladly  went.  In  it  and  about  it  there 
was  enough  to  busy  a  chore-boy  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end.  He  was  not  allowed  much  leisure,  nor  did 
he  have  a  harder  time  than  has  or  had  the  average 
farmer's  son.  But  he  lacked  the  advantages  which  to-day 
the  average  boy  enjoys.  Books  were  few  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  and  his  craving  for  them  was  constant,  insati 
able.  His  three  months  yearly  at  the  log  school-house 
but  served  to  whet  an  almost  abnormal  appetite  for 
knowledge,  and  render  him  more  passionately  eager  for 
that  which  was  denied.  His  chief  opportunities  for 
study  were  not  in  school,  but  at  the  fireplace,  as  in  the 
home  he  had  left  ;  and  there,  stretched  flat  upon  the 
hearthstone,  he  lay  long  evenings  through,  conning 
the  lessons  to  be  learned,  devouring  every  printed 
page  that  he  could  capture.  When  tired  of  study 
he  would  turn  upon  his  back  and  count  the  stars  that 
crossed  his  field  of  vision  through  the  yawning  chimney's 
throat. 

The  first  literary  possession  he  could  call  his  own  was 
a  mutilated  copy  of  Shakespeare.  He  happened  to  see 
it  one  day  in  the  hands  of  a  neighbor,  who  was  wiping 
his  razor  upon  its  leaves,  tearing  off  one  at  a  time  as 
needed  for  that  purpose.  This  vandalism  had  gone  on 
so  long  that  two  or  three  plays  were  missing  already,  but 


22  LIFE   OP  CLINTON-   BOWEtf   FISK. 

still  he  begged  to  buy  it.  The  farmer  consented  to  sell, 
and  Clinton  paid  him  by  hoeing  corn  two  days.  He  felt 
a  sturdy  pride  in  his  purchase,  damaged  though  it  was  ; 
arid  what  remained  of  Shakespeare  he  read  as  best 
he  could,  catching  even  then,  we  may  believe,  some 
glimmer  of  the  great  poet's  finest  meanings  and  grandest 
thoughts.  Beginning  with  this  one  volume,  he  estab 
lished  a  genuine  circulating  library,  a  shoe-box  for  his 
bookcase,  of  which  the  emasculated  Shakespeare,  an 
entire  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  a  worn  "  Pilgrim's  Prog 
ress,"  a  "  Paradise  Lost,"  and  a  "  Columbian  Orator," 
formed  the  largest  part.  If  these  were  not  all  entertain 
ing  books  for  so  young  a  lad,  one  of  them,  at  least,  had 
fascination  in  it,  and  they  were  such  as  neighborhood 
resources  would  permit. 

Clinton  was  bright,  quick-witted,  ambitious.  He  had 
an  exceptional  memory.  He  thought  much  about  what 
he  read,  and  talked  of  it  freely  with  those  around  him. 
The  man  he  served  had  fair  intelligence,  and  a  sensible 
appreciation  of  the  superiority  knowledge  gave.  Per 
haps  as  much  encouragement  was  given  the  boy  by  those 
he  daily  met  as  prudence  could  justify.  He  worked 
faithfully,  often  hard,  but  all  his  spare  moments  were 
given  to  reading.  His  thirst  for  knowledge  grew  daily 
more  intense.  Like  many  another  lad,  he  dreamed  of 
broad  endeavor  and  splendid  achievement,  and  felt  in 
eager  haste  for  manhood's  royal  morrow. 

It  was  in  front  of  Deacon  Wright's  fireplace  that  his 
earliest  anti-slavery  convictions  took  root.  The  deacon 
was  an  abolitionist  of  the  original  type — tenacious,  ardent ; 
and  so  was  his  wife.  They  held  long  and  animated  con 
versations  over  slavery,  and  all  the  innate  hatred  of 
Clinton's  boyish  heart  quickened  and  grew  strong  against 
it.  Yet  that  he  should  ever  have  such  part  as  came  to 


AT  THE  DEACON'S  AND  AFTERWARD.  23 

him  in  caring  for  slavery's  effects,  no  prophetic  aspira 
tions  might  foretell. 

The  year  after  he  went  to  live  at  Deacon  Wright's,  a 
veteran  Baptist  missionary,  Rev.  Robert  Powell,  held 
revival  meetings  in  a  school-house  two  miles  west.  He 
attended  these,  and  became  interested.  Young  as  he 
was,  he  had  more  mental  maturity  than  many  older 
youth  ;  and  back  of  him  was  a  religious  lineage  un 
usual,  from  which  he  had  inherited  unusually  strong  re 
ligious  tendencies.  His  temperament  was  responsive  to 
the  touch  of  divine  things.  He  had  read  so  much,  too, 
that  he  was  well  grounded  in  the  fundamentals  of  Chris 
tian  faith. 

One  night  the  preacher's  text  read  :  "  Come  unto  me 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest  "  (Matthew  11  :  28).  A  weary  working  boy, 
tired  with  the  labors  of  the  day,  Clinton  had  trudged 
over  to  the  meeting.  That  Scripture  touched  him  very 
deeply.  He  listened  with  a  new  tenderness  to  the  ser 
mon  which  followed,  and  afterward  went  forward  with 
others  for  prayers,  while  the  congregation  sang,  "  Alas  ! 
and  did  my  Saviour  bleed  ?"  Across  his  soul  there 
rolled  a  burden  of 'conscious  guilt  unknown  till  that 
hour.  He  thirsted  for  the  personal  comfort  of  Christ. 
Then  came  the  hymned  confession  and  covenant  of  those 
about  him,  sweet  and  pulsing  with  recognition  and 

avowal — 

(l  But  drops  of  grief  can  ne'er  repay 

The  debt  of  love  I  owe  ; 
Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 
'Tis  all  that  I  can  do. " 

Upon  the  wings  of  faith  and  song  his  burden  lifted. 
"  I  adopted  the  statement  and  pledge  as  mine,"  he  testi 
fied  later,  "  and  was  born  into  the  kingdom."  A  happy 


24  LIFE   OF   CLINTOH    BOWEN   FISK. 

walk  across  the  fields  homeward  finished  the  day  for 
him,  and  in  his  life  it  formed  a  way-mark  memorable 
above  all  others. 

He  was  baptized  a  little  later,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon, 
in  the  river  Kaisin,  by  Elder  Powell,  and  joined  the 
Baptist  Church.  A  sturdy  little  Baptist  he  remained, 
too,  for  some  time  afterward,  as  affirmed  by  one  of  his 
playmates  still  living  in  Clinton  ;  an  earnest  believer  in 
and  advocate  of  immersion,  and  quite  well  read  in  the 
pros  and  cons  thereof.  Best  of  all,  as  this  gentleman 
testifies,  he  was  an  active,  working  Christian,  solicitous 
for  human  souls.  He  talked  often  with  the  boys  who 
worked  and  played  with  him  about  religious  things,  and 
prayed  with  them  as  well  ;  and  though  he  did  not  cease 
to  be  a  boy  himself,  alive,  alert,  with  genuine  boyish 
pranks  and  innocent  mischief,  they  knew  that  he  was 
devoted  and  sincere. 

His  lips  were  clean.     Only  twice  does  he  remember  to 
have  soiled  them  with  an  oath.     On  the  first  occasion  he 
was  burning  brush  in  a  back  lot  half  a  mile  away  from 
every  one  but  God.     He  had  heard  much  profanity,  as 
in  those  days  every  boy  did  hear  it.     Young  tongues  and 
pure  could  easily  echo  oaths.     They  seemed  to  many 
youth  the  manly  form  of  emphasis.     Vexed  and  fretted 
'by  some  obstacle  his  hands  encountered,  Clinton  voiced 
a'  mild  expletive,  which  did  not  violate  the  third  com 
mandment.     It   shocked   him,    however,    coming   from 
himself.     It  violated  his  integrity  of  Christian  speech. 
Conscience  began  at  once  to  goad  him  and  give  him 
punishment.     He  could  neither  be  happy  nor  work  on 
until,  kneeling  by  a  stump  near-  by,  he  had  acknowledged 
his  fault  and  sin,  and  implored  God's  forgiveness.     And 
of  his  second  slip  he  repented  in  similar  swift  fashion, 
never  to  err  that  way  again. 


AT  THE   DEACON'S   AND   AFTERWARD.  25 

As  Clinton  read  and  studied  on  before  the  fireplace 
in  the  farmer's  home,  or,  often,  with  book  in  hand, 
about  his  duties  as  chore-boy,  there  grew  within  him  a 
desire  for  wider  things.  This  chance  that  had  appeared 
at  first  so  fine  did  not  develop  as  he  supposed  it  would, 
or  in  the  ratio  of  his  developing  aspirations.  At  best 
he  could  count  upon  two  or  three  years  only,  in  the 
aggregate,  of  school  advantages,  before  he  should  come 
"  of  age  "  and  command  his  time  ;  and  he  daily  hun 
gered  for  more,  and  of  a  better  sort.  At  length  hesita 
tion  yielded  to  hope,  and  he  laid  the  case  before  Deacon 
Wright.  But  the  deacon  failed  to  see  any  way  of  satis 
faction.  Then  Western,  his  younger  brother — so  named 
because  of  the  Western  fever  which  brought  Captain  Fisk 
to  Michigan — fell  ill  and  died.  The  older  boys  were 
scattered,  as  has  been  said.  Their  mother  was  left  en 
tirely  alone.  She  missed  her  baby,  and  grew  more  lone 
some  and  unhappy  week  by  week.  She  coveted  Clinton, 
and  sought  to  secure  his  return.  Between  her  and 
Deacon  Wright  there  were  many  interviews  and  seasons 
of  consideration,  with  the  subject  of  them  all  a  deeply 
interested  listener  or  participant.  It  grew  to  be  a  grave 
question,  in  his  mind,  whether  the  terms  his  master  pro 
posed,  as  conditioning  his  release,  could  be  met  ;  and  he 
spent  anxious  hours  with  the  deacon  in  discussing  them. 
At  last  concessions  were  made  which  Mrs.  Fisk  accepted, 
and  after  two  years  and  a  little  more  of  farm  life  Clinton 
found  himself  back  with  his  mother,  sharing  cheerfully 
the  poverty  she  bore,  because  free  to  work  out,  with  her 
consent  and  help,  the  better  things  of  which  ambitiously 
he  dreamed. 

He  did  not  find  the  doors  of  opportunity  wide  open 
even  now.  It  was  not  easy  for  the  boy  of  eleven  to 
overcome  such  difficulties  as  hedged  him  in.  But  he 


26  LIFE   OF   CLINTOJST   BOWEH   FISK. 

was  at  home,  and  his  mother's  counsels  were  wise,  her 
love  was  great.  There  must  come  brighter  days  farther 
on.  He  should  be  her  brave  and  cheerful  helper. 
Somehow  they  should  get  along.  He  might  go  to  school, 
when  school  there  was  ;  the  way  would  grow  kinder 
by  and  by. 

Blessed  is  the  lad  who  has  a  royal  mother-heart  to  com 
fort  him  in  such  sweet  and  blessed  wise  !  Blessed  is  the 
man  who  can  look  back  upon  a  boyhood  ennobled  and 
inspired  by  such  a  mother- heart  ! 

Whatever  he  couM  do  Clinton  did  to  help  the  mother 
who  so  helped  him.  All  sorts  of  odd  jobs  were  thrown 
into  his  hands  by  neighbors  and  clerks,  each  of  whom 
liked  the  lad  and  wanted  to  see  him  succeed.  He  ran 
errands,  he  carried  packages,  he  watered  horses,  he 
drove  cows  ;  he  took  such  pay  as  came.  Often  his  com 
pensation  was  in  some  printed  form  or  other — a  stray 
magazine,  or  an  old  newspaper,  or  a  well-thumbed  book 
which  none  coveted  but  he.  In  this  manner  he  acquired 
and  read  "  The  Pickwick  Papers,"  then  running  as  a 
serial  in  a  Philadelphia  journal,  and  reverting  from  the 
regular  subscriber  to  himself.  His  taste  did  not  discrim 
inate  against  anything  in  the  shape  of  print  that  fortune 
threw  in  his  way.  He  read  omnivorously,  with  varying 
interest,  to  be  sure,  but  always  interested.  Whatever 
treated  of  the  Revolution  or  slavery,  or  was  adapted  to 
declamation,  he  caught  at  quickest.  The  native  instincts 
of  an  orator  were  his,  and  he  soon  committed  to  memory 
every  page  in  the  old  "  Columbian  "  collection,  reciting 
favorite  pieces  often  to  an  imaginary  audience,  and 
thrilling  with  the  effort  thus  made. 

It  must  have  been  just  after  his  return  from  life  on  the 
deacon's  farm  that  he  first  publicly  appeared  in  an 
oratorical  capacity.  With  some  other  active  lads  he 


AT  THE   DEACON'S  AND   AFTERWARD.  27 

planned  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  and  was  designated 
to  deliver  the  address.  With  all  possible  care  he  wrote 
it  out  ;  Schoolmaster  Tidd  corrected  it  and  perhaps  a 
little  improved  it  ;  and  then  he  carefully  memorized  the 
production.  It  glowed  with  revolutionary  spirit  and 
patriotism.  It  was  radical  with  anti  slavery  sentiment. 
Its  delivery,  in  a  grove  by  the  riverside,  before  a  real 
audience  numbering  about  all  the  people  in  that  neigh 
borhood,  brought  the  climax  of  exultation  and  exaltation 
to  Clinton  B.  Some  grown-up  patriots  had  taken  the 
affair  partly  in  hand  and  given  it  more  general  char 
acter,  and  it  surprised  the  town.  Having  organized  a 
little  company  of  cadets,  Clinton  marched  them  about 
the  village,  some  hint  of  his  military  qualifications  thus 
early  manifest,  and  halted  them  in  front  of  the  Eagle 
Hotel.  The  landlord,  one  Parks,  invited  them  in  to 
drink.  But  that  was  a  cold-water  company,  made  so 
through  the  influence  of  a  cold-water  captain.  The 
company  hesitated,  and  the  landlord  urged. 

"  Can  we  have  anything  to  drink  we  want  ?"  inquired 
young  Captain  Fisk. 

The  landlord  said  they  could. 

"  Then  we'll  all  come  in  and  take  some  lemonade," 
said  the  captain  ;  and  in  they  went. 

The  result  was  a  speedy  dearth  of  lemons  and  sugar  in 
that  hotel,  and  widespread  enjoyment  of  the  landlord's 
discomfiture. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BEARING    THE    BIRNEY   FLAG. 

THE  Presidential  campaign  of  1840,  with  its  "  log- 
cabin  and  hard  cider  "  features,  is  well  remembered  by 
the  middle-aged  men  of  to-day.  Especial  interest  was 
felt  in  it  throughout  southeastern  Michigan,  because  two 
of  the  candidates  had  figured  actively  in  a  fiercer  and 
bloodier  campaign  on  that  same  soil  a  generation  pre 
vious.  General  Harrison's  Indian  warfare  along  the 
Maumee  and  up  and  down  the  Raisin  had  not  yet  be 
come  ancient  history  ;  and  in  that  wilder  campaigning 
Major  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  had  taken 
conspicuous  part.  Now  Harrison  was  the  Whig  nominee 
for  President,  and  Johnson  had  been  nominated  for  ^Vice- 
President  by  the  Democrats.  The  name  of  each  was 
familiar,  from  local  association,  in  all  tkat  range  of 
country  round  about  Detroit,  on  both  sides  the  Canadian 
line. 

Johnson  came  to  Lenawee  County,  and  spoke  in  Clin 
ton.  He  had  been  a  gallant  soldier  in  his  early  man 
hood  ;  he  was  a  brilliant  orator  now,  with  the  dash  and 
fervor  characteristic  of  Southern  speakers.  The  boy 
Clinton  went  to  hear  him,  though  not  a  Democrat. 

For  it  should  be  recorded  that  while  all  the  other  lads 
in  his  neighborhood  were  Democrats  or  "Whigs,  Clinton 
Fisk  went  with  an  unpopular  cause,  and  shouted  for 
liberty.  His  party  was  the  Liberty  Party.  Descended 
from  ancestors  who  ever  held  strong  moral  and  political 


BEARING   THE   BIRNEY   FLAG.  29 

convictions,  he  was  born  to  hate  that  great  prophetic  fact 
in  our  national  life  which  begat  abolitionism  and  inspired 
political  organization  to  put  the  fact  away.  Quickly  and 
faithfully  he  identified  himself  with  that  organization, 
and  felt  a  sturdy  pride  in  his  alliance  which  could  not  be 
repressed.  And  while  his  mates  were  growing  up  to  walk 
in  the  partisan  way  of  their  fathers,  and  his  well-grown 
brothers  would  soon  vote  the  Democratic  ticket,  he  stood 
out  with  boyish  boldness  for  the  little  party  scorned  and 
sneered  at  on  every  side.  His  faith  in  it  never  faltered. 
With  brave  and  resolute  heart  he  could  hold  alone  by 
what  he  thought  was  right,  and  feel  no  sense  of 
shame. 

Those  were  exciting  days  when  vast  crowds  gathered 
to  shout  and  sing  for  "  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too." 
Hard  cider  flowed  abundantly  at  every  assemblage  of  the 
Whigs,  and  it  may  be  true,  as  has  been  said,  that  many  a 
drunkard  in  after  years  could  trace  his  downward  course 
to  "  log-cabin  "  gatherings  during  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1840.  There  were  processions  and  barbecues  and 
banners  everywhere.  The  very  air  grew  heavy  with 
political  feeling  and  party  strife.  Even  youngest  lads 
were  eager  in  party  demonstration,  and  vied  with  each 
other,  and  excited  men,  in  the  heated  clamor  of  the 
times. 

It  humiliated  Clinton  Fisk  to  see  the  little  Whigs  and 
Democrats  bearing  their  neat  banners  and  flags  about, 
gay  with  color  and  glorious  with  possible  victory,  while 
no  cheers  went  up  and  no  flag  was  lifted  for  the  candi 
dates  of  his  choice.  He  wanted  a  banner,  too,  and  de 
termined  to  have  it.  By  selling  molasses  candy  he 
earned  a  little  cash,  and  with  it  purchased  three  fourths 
of  a  yard  of  cotton  sheeting.  Some  axle  grease  served 
him  for  paint,  and  with  that  he  inscribed,  in  crude  black 


30  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

letters  upon  the  white  cloth,  the  ticket  which  had  few 
friends  : 

BIKNEY  AND  LEMOYNE. 

Having  a  banner,  he  needed  but  a  staff  to  bear  it  as 
proudly  as  his  mates  were  bearing  theirs.  The  need  was 
urgent,  and  his  resources  were  meagre.  He  must  take 
part  in  the  processions,  large  and  small,  and  his  flag  must 
be  held  aloft.  So  he  justified,  to  himself,  the  appropri 
ation  of  his  mother's  broom-handle,  after  sawing  off  the 
brush,  and  on  it  he  nailed  the  banner  s(  with  that  strange 
device,"  and  bore  it  to  victory.  To  victory,  because  he 
had  to  fight  for  the  privilege  of  carrying  it  at  all,  and 
won  his  first  actual  battle  in  life  upon  that  issue  of  re 
form.  The  other  boys  made  a  vigorous  attack  upon 
him  when  he  appeared  with  it  in  their  midst,  and  he 
made  still  more  vigorous  defence.  It  was  a  lively  melee 
which  followed,  and  in  it  flags,  staffs,  boys,  and  a  broom 
stick  were  sadly  mixed  up,  if  not  much  demoralized  ; 
but  the  Birney  banner  triumphed,  and  Clinton  bore  it 
exultantly  and  unmolested  from  that  time.  It  may  be 
his  exultation  was  a  bit  discounted,  however,  when  his 
mother  spanked  him  for  spoiling  her  broom.  Whether 
she  often  punished  him  that  way  he  does  not  testify, 
though  he  often  refers  with  a  sigh  to  "  those  palmy 
days." 

He  went  to  the  Democratic  meeting  at  which  Johnson 
spoke,  and  with  his  banner  perched  himself  just  front  of 
the  platform,  in  the  grove  where  a  crowd  was  gathered. 
Ossian  E.  Dodge,  a  then  popular  minstrel,  sat  there, 
with  other  singers  forming  a  quartette — the  first  Clinton 
had  ever  heard.  The  Birney  flag  caught  the  minstrel's 
eye,  and  to  the  Birney  boy  he  said  : 

"  See  here,  boy,  go  away  with  your  dirty  rag  !" 


BEARING   THE    BIRNEY    FLAG.  31 

Then  the  Birney  boy  was  led  indignantly  to  prophesy. 

"  This  dirty  rag  will  one  day  swallow  up  all  other 
political  banners  !"  he  declared,  his  shrill  tones  quiver 
ing  with  a  consciousness  of  insult. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  just  here  that  in  1860, 
speaking  for  the  Republican  candidates  at  another  town 
in  Michigan,  General  Fisk  met  Ossian  E.  Dodge  again, 
singing  for  party  success,  and  publicly  reminded  him  of 
the  incident  above  given,  and  of  that  prophecy  uttered 
twenty  years  before. 

Colonel  Johnson's  oratory  captivated  Clinton,  and  made 
him  wish  to  hear  more  of  it.  Next  day  the  brilliant 
Kentuckian  was  to  speak  at  Tecumseh,  and  the  boy  grew 
crazy  to  be  there.  What  matter  if  it  was  not  a  gather 
ing  of  his  party  ? — his  party  had  not  yet  come  to  the 
mass-meeting  estate — all  the  same  he  was  eager  to  see 
the  crowd,  and  hear  the  music,  and  catch  its  inspiration. 
The  martial  spirit  of  his  father  and  of  certain  fore 
fathers  rose  and  thrilled  within  him  at  thought  of  the 
splendid  assemblage,  the  sharp  vigor  of  fife  and  drum, 
perhaps  the  glitter  of  military  parade,  and  the  sure  glow 
of  impassioned  speech.  Then  the  glamour  of  heroism 
and  romance  hung  about  the  orator's  personality,  for  he 
it  was,  as  campaign  stories  ran,  who  with  his  own  hand 
slew  the  great  Tecumseh  upon  the  bank  of  the  Thames. 
What  boy  with  a  soldier's  future  waiting  even  far  ahead 
could  not  feel  the  strong  allurement  of  such  a  candidate, 
with  oratorical  power  such  as  his  ! 

His  brother  Welcome  and  another  young  man  drove 
to  the  Tecumseh  meeting  in  a  buggy.  When  over  half 
way  there  Welcome  saw  something  sticking  out  from 
under  the  buggy-seat  behind.  It  was  a  boy's  foot.  It 
belonged  to  a  boy.  The  boy  was  Clinton  B.  He  had 
smuggled  himself  on  board,  and  curled  up  in  this  pain- 


32  LIFE   OF   CLIHTOST   BOWEH   FISK. 

ful  fashion  was  bound  for  the  place  of  his  desire.  He 
might  easier  have  walked  the  five  miles,  possibly,  but  it 
would  not  have  been  so  much  fun.  And  he  loved  fun 
dearly  always. 

A  year  after  this  wonderful  campaign  an  important 
event  occurred.  Mrs.  Fisk  married  again.  William 
Smith,  a  wealthy  farmer  living  at  Spring  Arbor,  twelve 
miles  from  Jackson,  having  somehow  heard  of  her  worth 
arid  work,  sought  her  acquaintance,  and  persuaded  her 
to  abandon  widowhood.  The  little  home  was  given  up, 
the  struggles  of  a  lonely  life  terminated,  and  with  Clin 
ton,  in  the  fall  of  1841,  she  went  to  easier  conditions 
and  an  apparently  assured  future  for  her  boy.  He  won 
the  warm  affection  of  his  stepfather  at  once  ;  and  Mr. 
Smith,  thinking  so  highly  of  education  that  he  soon 
planned  the  establishment  of  a  college,  was  willing  and 
anxious  to  give  his  bright  stepson  a  chance. 

But  for  a  time  Spring  Arbor  advantages  were  limited. 
The  district  school  was  two  miles  and  a  half  away,  and 
Clinton  walked  that  distance  daily  to  and  fro  when  any 
school  there  was.  Sometimes  he  went  to  the  school- 
house  for  other  than  school  reasons.  Mr.  Smith  was  an 
abolitionist,  like  Deacon  Wright,  and  under  his  arrange 
ment  abolition  meetings  were  occasionally  held  there,  for 
which  Clinton  built  the  fires,  and  in  which  his  young 
convictions  grew  steadily  stronger  and  more  mature. 
He  breathed  now  an  intenser  radical  atmosphere  than 
ever,  in  point  of  fact,  for  the  Smith  homestead  was  a 
station  on  the  Underground  Railroad,  and  boy  as  he  was, 
Clinton  became  a  sub-conductor  of  that  famous  thor 
oughfare.  Many  a  time  within  the  next  three  or  four 
years  was  he  called  up  at  night  and  despatched  with 
some  dusky  passenger  toward  the  Detroit  River  and 
Freedom.  He  could  drive  to  the  next  station  and  get 


BEARING   THE   BIRNEY   FLAG.  33 

back  by  daylight  generally,  with  no  one  the  wiser  for 
his  going  or  returning  ;  but  some  suspicion  existed  in  the 
minds  of  pro-slavery  neighbors,  after  all,  and  it  found 
expression  vaguely  now  and  then. 

He  was  nearing  home  one  morning  a  little  later  than 
it  should  have  been  after  such  an  errand,  and  rather 
tired  and  sleepy  from  his  all-night's  trip.  Jogging 
along  without  much  care  or  concern  as  to  who  saw  him, 
he  met  a  stern  religionist  of  the  town,  who  was  also 
sternly  opposed  to  abolition  ideas,  and  who  believed 
slavery  a  divine  institution.  He,  too,  was  a  deacon,  but 
not  of  Elijah  Wright's  kind.  Looking  sharply  at  the 
tired  horse  and  the  sleepy  driver,  and  suspecting  both  of 
unholy  uses — perhaps  imagining  Clinton  to  have  been 
out  on  some  midnight  lark  of  quite  another  sort — this 
deacon  said  : 

"  Young  man,  I  know  where  you're  going  !" 

Pulling  up  short,  the  young  man  simply  asked  : 

"  Where?" 

And  slowly  and  with  solemn  emphasis  the  deacon 
answered  : 

"  You're  going  to  hell  !" 

Then  as  slowly  and  solemnly  the  young  man  made 
response  : 

"  No,  sir!  You  are  mistaken.  I'm  going  home  to 
breakfast." 

And  the  look  of  horror  and  surprise  upon  that  deacon's 
face  as  the  young  man  drove  on  is  not  forgotten  by  the 
young  man  yet. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

STRUGGLES    FOR    AN    EDUCATION. 

Two  years  were  spent  by  Clinton  in  the  Smith  family 
without  interruption.  He  was  rarely  idle.  When  not 
in  school  he  worked  upon  the  farm.  A  very  comfort 
able  home  was  his,  with  some  luxuries,  including  more 
books  than  he  had  known  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
had  quite  all  he  craved. 

His  effort  to  obtain  one  special  text- book  was  tinged 
with  pathos.  He  was  then  fifteen  years  old,  rather  tall 
and  slim  and  slight.  Whoever  looked  at  him  must  fancy 
that  he  was  less  fitted  for  hard  knocks  than  for  the  quiet 
of  a  student's  life.  Yet  he  could  devote  much  physical 
energy  to  give  the  student  in  him  a  chance.  He  caught 
a  coon — no  strange  thing  for  a  boy  where  coons 
abounded,  but  he  caught  this  one  for  an  unusual  pur 
pose.  Then  with  singular  patience  he  taught  the  coon 
more  tricks  than  were  ever  dreamed  of  before  in  a  coon's 
tricky  philosophy.  Of  course  he  came  to  love  the  sly, 
sleek,  serene  yet  semi-humorous  animal,  and  to  feel  a 
certain  pride  in  him  as  well.  He  would  gladly  have 
kept  him,  after  all  his  patient  application,  followed  by 
the  reward  of  such  expertness.  But  resolutely  he  put 
love  and  desire  one  side,  and  as  resolutely  walked  twelve 
miles  to  Jackson,  sold  his  coon  as  a  trick  wonder  to  a 
circus  exhibiting  there,  bought  Anthon's  "  Latin  Les 
son?,"  and  walked  the  long  way  home  again,  sorrowful 


STRUGGLES   FOR   Atf   EDUCATION.  35 

over  the  loss  of'liis  pet,  but  glad  in  possession  of  the 
book  he  had  coveted  so  keenly. 

It  was  not  easy  to  study  Latin  alone  unaided,  now  that 
the  Latin  grammar  was  his.  But  at  night,  in  front  of 
the  fireplace,  and  by  day  while  afield,  he  plodded  on 
through  nouns  and  verbs,  declensions  and  conjugations. 
With  the  help  of  written  slips  prepared  for  such  use  the 
night  before,  he  conned  his  Latin  exercises  many  a  day 
light  hour  behind  the  plough,  or  driving  the  cattle  to  pas 
ture,  or  following  the  drag.  The  genitive  diphthong 
troubled  him  more  than  all  else.  Was  its  pronunciation 
determined  by  the  a  or  the  ef  Not  a  serious  question, 
the  average  youth  might  have  said  ;  and  Clinton  might 
have  thought  so,  only  he  was  not  the  average  youth. 
His  ambition  said  constantly  to  him,  "  Be  right."  No 
body  near  him  knew  a  Latin  word,  but  he  learned,  by 
chance,  of  another  boy  studying  the  language  who  was  to 
be  at  a  camp-meeting  ten  miles  distant.  To  meet  that 
boy  he  walked  the  twenty  miles  of  that  round  trip,  and 
he  fairly  hugged  himself  the  whole  returning  distance 
because  of  his  success  in  pumping  the  boy  dry  of  Latin 
information  without  telling  how  little  he  really  knew 
himself. 

His  liking  for  declamation  did  not  cease.  He  memo 
rized  about  every  bit  of  stirring  prose  or  verse  which 
came  under  his  eye,  and  never  tired  of  repeating  it. 
Stepfather  Smith  had  an  old  bay  horse  known  as  Jerry 
which  Clinton  rode  regularly  to  the  post-office,  two  and 
a  half  miles  away,  on  mail  days,  and  Jerry  became  his 
patient  audience.  The  boy's  voice,  it  is  said,  could  often 
be  heard  a  full  half  mile  as,  standing  in  the  saddle,  he 
made  some  writer's  eloquence  his  own,  while  Jerry 
wondered,  possibly,  what  it  all  meant,  yet  seldom  an 
swered  neigh. 


36  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

Deacon  Smith — for,  if  not  actually  a  deacon,  they 
called  him  so — was  a  very  pious  man,  and  besides  being 
a  Christian  and  an  abolitionist,  he  was  a  "  Millerite." 
He  looked  for  the  end  of  the  world.  With  a  few  of  like 
faith  he  had  ciphered  out  the  problem  of  Christ's  reap 
pearance,  and  the  final  ascension  of  the  saints.  And 
more  than  once  Clinton  was  called  up  in  the  night  or 
bidden  be  ready  by  day  to  mount  heavenward.  With 
so  good  and  strong  a  man  as  his  stepfather  believing 
implicitly  in  the  near  finis,  a  summons  like  this  could 
not  be  other  than  impressive  and  awesome,  even  though 
the  boy  doubted  much  and  did  very  little  dread. 

In  the  fall  of  1843  Clinton  went  to  Albion  Seminary 
for  the  preliminary  course  of  study  that  should  fit  him 
for  college.  Not  so  much  from  necessity,  it  may  be 
assumed,  as  from  independent  choice,  he  rather  roughed 
it  there.  With  a  Miss  Benedict,  a  Miss  Depew,  a 
brother  of  the  former  and  some  others,  he  organized  a 
students'  club,  and  they  boarded  themselves  at  an  aver 
age  weekly  cost  of  sixty  cents  each.  By  the  kindness  of 
Rev.  Loren  Grant,  Clinton  slept  in  a  loft  over  that  gen 
tleman's  woodshed.  His  previous  self-teaching  had 
served  so  well  that  he  took  front  rank  promptly  in  all 
classes,  and  was  able  to  hold  his  own  throughout  the 
winter  term  with  ease. 

In  the  spring  of  ISM  he  went  back  to  Spring  Arbor  to 
resume  work  on  the  farm.  Not  yet  were  the  plans  for 
his  thorough  education  fully  made,  but  they  took  shape 
during  the  next  few  months.  With  other  men  of  means 
and  influence,  William  Smith  that  summer  founded 
Michigan  Central  College,  in  the  little  town  near  which 
he  lived,  and  here  Clinton  Fisk  was  to  go  forward  and 
graduate.  Daniel  M.  Graham  became  its  first  principal, 
and  with  Andrew  Jackson  Graham,  Clinton  began  the 


STRUGGLES   FOR   Atf   EDUCATION.  37 

study  of  Greek  that  fall.  He  was  happy  in  the  thought 
of  unbroken  educational  opportunity  till  a  college 
diploma  should  be  his,  and  after  that  he  had  not 
clearly  made  up  his  mind.  Sixteen,  sunny  of  heart, 
swift  to  learn,  the  adopted  favorite  of  a  man  whom 
every  one  respected  and  whom  he  had  come  to  love,  the 
future  seemed  bright  before  him,  and  hope  was  literally 
bounding  in  his  breast. 

Then  suddenly,  for  William  Smith  alone,  the  world's 
end  came.  He  died  almost  without  any  warning,  on 
Christmas  Day.  And  again  for  Clinton  Fisk,  as  for  his 
twice-widowed  mother,  all  things  were  changed.  On 
May  5th,  1845,  they  left  the  Smith  homestead  for  Albion, 
where  Mr.  Isaac  "N".  Swayne,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Smith, 
provided  for  them  a  little  home  which  together  they  oc 
cupied  until  autumn,  when  the  mother  went  back  to 
Clinton  for  permanent  residence,  and  later  once  more 
remarried  there.  Her  third  husband  was  the  minister  by 
whom  Clinton  was  baptized,  Rev.  Robert  Powell,  and 
with  him  she  had  many  years  of  peaceful  companionship 
on  a  farm  two  miles  from  Clinton,  free  from  burdensome 
cares  and  in  an  atmosphere  of  comforting  Christian  trust. 

Clinton's  college  purposes  were  not  abandoned.  Part 
of  the  years  1845  and  1846  he  pursued  his  preliminary 
course,  leading  each  class  he  was  in.  He  had  some 
bright  classmates,  too.  One  of  them  was  Wirt  "W. 
Dexter,  now  of  Chicago  ;  another,  J.  Stirling  Martin,  of 
the  same  city  ;  a  third  was  his  partial  namesake  and 
perhaps  very  distant  relative,  L.  R.  Fisk,  now  President 
of  Albion  College.  Like  all  students,  these  had  their 
merry  times,  their  practical  jokes.  One  of  the  latter 
came  near  to  tragedy,  and  grew  almost  too  serious  for 
sport.  Boxes  of  food  were  sent  sometimes  to  Clinton 
from  the  mother's  kitchen,  and  were  welcomed,  of 


38  LIFE   OF   CLINTON'   BOWEN"   FISK. 

course.  Another  youth,  named  Stewart,  thought  it  no 
sin  to  slip  into  Clinton's  room  occasionally  while  Clinton 
was  out  and  fill  himself  with  pie  and  cake.  Willing  to 
punish  him  a  bit,  and  missing  half  a  pie  which  he 
had  placed  conspicuously,  and  which  Stewart  had 
made  way  with,  Clinton  said  soberly,  but  in  anxious 
tones : 

"  Stewart,  you  didn't  eat  that  pie  ?" 

A  little  frightened,  the  victim  allowed  he  did.  Heav 
ing  a  troubled  sigh,  and  looking  much  concerned,  his 
tormentor  said  : 

"  Well,  I  hope  it  won't  kill  you  !" 

"  Why — why — what  was  the  matter  with  it?"  in 
quired  Stewart,  now  much  alarmed. 

u  You  didn't  know  it  was  fixed  there  on  purpose  to 
kill  rats  ?"  insinuated  Clinton. 

"How  should  I  know  it?"  the  young  man  asked, 
frightened  yet  more  terribly.  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  Am 
I  poisoned  ?  Do  you,  think  I'll  die  ?" 

Then  Clinton's  chum,  Martin,  came  forward  and  offered 
to  fix  him  some  medicine  that  might  ward  off  death.  It 
was  prepared,  and  taken  with  almost  fatal  effect.  In  a 
few  hours  Stewart  grew  so  weak  and  used  up  that  he 
looked  like  a  hospital  patient  near  his  end,  and  all  the 
time  the  young  man's  alarm  became  more  terrible.  At 
last  his  sister,  Miss  Mollie  Stewart,  suspected  the  secret 
of  his  illness,  and  laid  her  suspicions  before  the  princi 
pal.  Young  Martin  and  Fisk  were  arraigned  in  his  pres 
ence,  and  manfully  confessed  the  joke.  He  reprimanded 
them  severely,  but  his  keen  eyes  twinkled  as  he  did  so, 
and  they  saw  him  laughing  silently  as  they  left  his  room. 
The  joke  got  out,  and  for  some  time  afterward  the  door 
of  these  two  young  men  bore  upon  it  this  sign,  placed 
there  by  appreciative  hands  : 


STRUGGLES  FOR  AN"  EDUCATION.  39 

FISK  &  MAKTIN, 
BOTANIC  PHYSICIANS. 

Refer  to   W.   W.  S 

General  Fisk  may  well,  as  he  does,  give  credit  to  those 
school  terms  at  Albion  for  the  larger  part  of  his  life's 
worth  and  work  ;  for  he  won  there  more  and  better 
things  than  an  insight  into  Greek  participles  and  a 
knowledge  of  Caesar's  "  Commentaries."  He  learned  by 
heart,  as  never  in  solitary  field  studies  could  he  have  done, 
the  Latin  verb  amo.  Among  his  fellow-students  was  a 
round-faced,  rosy-cheeked,  black-eyed  girl  of  fourteen, 
from  Cold  water,  Mich. — Jeannette  A.  Crippen.  He 
saw  her  first  in  June,  1845,  and  the  school-days  were 
brighter  for  him  every  month  afterward.  By  and  by  he 
won  her  heart,  as  altogether  she  won  his,  and  with  it  he 
won,  for  a  near  and  a  long  future,  all  the  better  things 
implied  above — helpful  companionship,  loyal  devotion, 
unyielding  confidence,  and  the  sweet,  fearless,  faithful 
strength  of  a  character  fine- fibred,  close-knit,  self-reliant 
in  superlative  degree. 

During  a  part  of  1846  he  taught  school  in  the  town 
ship  of  Bridgewater,  near  where  his  mother  had  gone  to 
live  ;  but  this  only  as  a  makeshift.  He  had  set  his  face 
toward  Ann  Arbor,  and  the  University  of  Michigan 
there.  He  was  ready  indeed  to  enter  Sophomore  year 
at  that  institution,  when  Providence  ordered  otherwise. 
Hard  study  by  night,  and  the  intense  heat  of  fire 
light  by  which  he  had  read  and  studied  much,  bore  fruit 
in  disease  of  the  eyes  so  acute  and  continued  that  further 
close  application  became  impossible  ;  and  with  keen, 
lasting  regret  he  gave  up  his  long- cherished  hope,  put 
away  the  books  he  loved  so  well,  turned  his  back  on 
teachers  and  teaching,  and  began  as  best  he  might  to 


40  LIFE   OF   CLINTOH    BOWEK   FISK. 

work  out  a  business  career.  His  bitter  disappointment 
can  be  understood  only  by  those  who  have  hungered 
with  desire  like  his  for  all  that  books  and  schools  can 
yield,  have  tasted  a  little  time  the  sweets  of  their  satis 
faction,  and  then  have  been  thrust  suddenly  away  where 
famine  is. 

During  six  months  of  1847  he  served  as  clerk  in  the 
store  of  John  Keyes,  at  Manchester,  Mich.,  and  through 
the  spring  and  summer  of  1848  he  was  a  clerk  at  Albion 
for  M.  Hannahs  &  Son.  His  genial  good-nature,  his 
native  politeness,  and  his  active  ways  made  friends  for 
him  and  for  his  employers,  and  he  speedily  developed 
business  gifts  and  adaptiveness  of  a  superior,  even  a  sur 
prising  order.  He  was  quick,  discriminating,  ready. 
He  gave  to  the  poorest  patron  equal  courtesy  accorded 
the  rich.  He  had  unyielding  convictions,  but  they  were 
covered  as  with  velvet.  His  tact  made  contact  with  him 
agreeable  for  all.  By  some  swift  instinct  he  started  at 
once  on  the  sure  road  to  business  popularity  that  in  general 
means  business  success  ;  which  accounts  largely,  if  not 
altogether,  for  the  fact  that  he  went  to  Coldwater  in 
September,  1848,  and  formed  a  business  alliance  with 
Crippen  &  Kellogg  in  that  place.  It  was  another  way- 
mark,  the  going  there. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MARRIAGE   AND   BUSINESS    AT    COLDWATER. 

Miss  JEANNETTE  CRIPPEN  had  a  brother,  J.  B.  Crip- 
pen,  who  at  Albion  formed  for  Clinton  B.  a  warm  at 
tachment,  and  it  was  ostensibly  to  visit  him  that  Clin 
ton  sought  Coldwater  at  first.  He  may  have  confessed 
also  a  wish  to  see  Miss  Jeannette  herself.  The  young 
lady's  father,  Mr.  L.  D.  Crippen,  was  the  leading  busi 
ness  man  in  Coldwater  at  that  time,  with  large  capital 
and  varied  interests,  comprising  mills,  a  store,  farm 
lands,  etc.  The  place  numbered  from  two  to  three 
thousand  population,  and  was  a  recognized  commercial 
centre  of  Southern  Michigan.  Round  about  it  were 
fertile  reaches  of  country  being  rapidly  brought  into 
cultivation  and  requiring  large  cash  advances  for  de 
velopment.  It  was  a  wide,  rich  field  for  sagacious  busi 
ness  operations. 

By  advantageous  arrangement  with  the  Crippens, 
Clinton  became  associated  at  once  with  the  firm  as  it 
stood  then,  J.  B.  Crippen  and  himself  having  part 
therein  without  name.  It  remained  Crippen  &  Kellogg 
two  years  longer,  and  grew  yet  more  successful.  Having 
put  away  entirely  his  higher  educational  ambitions,  and 
possessing  acquirements  ample  for  a  commercial  life, 
our  young  friend  was  ambitious  along  these  lines  of 
alternative  effort,  and  set  his  heart  on  success.  His  self- 
confidence  grew  strong.  It  was  not  undue  assurance,  but 
a  fair  measure  of  his  own  powers,  that  gave  him  faith  and 


42  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWES"  FISK. 

lent  firmness  of  purpose.  He  had  rare  incentive,  too,  to 
work  and  win.  A  home  and  fortune  were  one  day  to 
be  his.  He  was  trusted,  and  given  a  chance.  He  had 
lost  much,  but  prodigal  things  were  yet  in  store.  No 
wonder  that  he  gave  himself  so  freely  and  with  such 
prosperous  results.  He  was  spendthrift  of  good- nature, 
cheerful  courtesy,  willing  zeal.  He  shrank  from  nothing 
that  was  honorable  and  profitable.  He  became  a  neces 
sity  in  the  various  departments  of  business  carried  on. 
Alert,  adept,  adaptable,  he  could  not  be  spared. 

In  1850  Mr.  Kellogg  retired,  and  the  firm  was  made 
L.  D.  Crippen  &  Son,  with  Clinton  Fisk  a  still  silent 
but  very  active  partner.  On  February  20th  of  that  year 
he  married  Miss  Crippen,  and  thus  established  a  dual 
partnership,  which  compensated  him  for  loss  of  col 
lege  honors.  The  young  couple  began  domestic  life 
together  under  favorable  auspices  in  a  modest  cottage 
on  Chicago  Street,  the  chief  avenue  of  Coldwater.  The 
parents  of  Mrs.  Fisk  furnished  and  fitted  up  this  home 
for  them,  and  in  it  the  sweetest  ambitions  of  Clinton  B. 
were  realized. 

In  business  too  lie  prospered  far  beyond  his  dreams. 
The  same  year  Crippen's  Exchange  Bank  was  started  by 
Crippen  &  Fisk,  and  with  good  capital  its  operations 
extended  widely  in  a  short  time.  Mr.  Fisk  managed 
bank  affairs  chiefly  from  the  day  it  opened,  and  here,  as 
in  the  more  miscellaneous  business  activities,  he  showed 
exceptional  sagacity,  the  instinct  of  success.  His  un 
failing  good-fellowship,  his  consummate  skill  in  dealing 
with  men,  insured  patronage  and  commanded  friends. 
He  took  part  or  led  in  every  enterprise  for  the  town's 
welfare.  He  was  active  and  zealous  in  all  the  com 
munity's  good  works.  Among  other  things  which 
helped  his  popularity  with  the  younger  generation,  he 


MARRIAGE   AND   BUSINESS   AT   COLDWATER.  43 

organized  the  first  band  Coldwater  knew,  and  himself 
played  in  it  for  some  time,  taking  the  E  flat  tuba.  He 
proved  himself  accessible,  many-sided,  clear-headed,  with 
executive  talents  remarkable  and  diverse. 

Perhaps  in  token  of  past  remembrances,  in  1853  he 
bought  a  farm.  It  lay  just  outside  and  adjoining  the 
corporation,  northeast,  and  could  not  be  surpassed  for 
beauty  and  fertility  in  all  that  fertile  region.  Upon  it 
he  erected  fine  buildings  and  conducted  practical  experi 
ments.  He  made  it  the  premium  farm  of  that  county, 
and  Mrs.  Fisk  yet  has  a  set  of  silver  plate  awarded  him 
by  the  committee  who  pronounced  it  so.  It  boasted  the 
best  stock  known,  and  became,  with  its  equipment,  an  ob 
ject  of  local  pride.  It  advertised  the  owner  as  a  man  of 
exquisite  rural  taste  allied  with  practical  sense  as  an  agri 
culturist.  If  he  did  not  make  money  off  his  well-kept 
acres,  he  made  a  better  rural  sentiment  around  them  and 
lifted  higher  the  standard  of  neighboring  rural  life. 

It  was  not  until  1854  that  the  distinctively  Christian 
quality  of  his  manhood  became  dominant.  He  had 
never  let  clean  go  of  God,  as  do  so  many  youth  between 
fifteen  and  twenty-five,  but  his  church  relations  for  a 
time  were  rather  nominal.  Of  composite  religious 
antecedents  and  of  Baptist  conversion,  he  came  while  at 
Albion  into  Methodist  communion  and  faith,  but  not 
then  into  full  Methodistic  activity.  The  need  of  prayer 
seemed  less  pressing  than  the  call  for  work  during  those 
busy  years  before  and  after  marriage.  Almost  without 
realizing  it  he  had  drifted  religiously  into  that  indiffer 
ent,  careless,  well-nigh  prayerless  condition  of  mind 
common  to  energetic,  overworked  business  men. 

At  home  one  night,  after  supper  was  over,  his  little 
three-year-old  daughter  Mary  came  and  knelt  by  him  to 
say  her  evening  prayer.  The  mother  was  occupied  un- 


44  LIFE  OF   CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK. 

usually,  and  for  once  her  sweetest  maternal  duty  she  dele 
gated  to  him.  White-robed  and  pure  as  the  white-robed 
ones  above,  the  tiny  figure  bowed  its  head  upon  his  knee 
arid  prayed.  It  was  a  new  experience  to  this  busy  young 
man.  He  listened,  with  heart  beating  swifter,  to  her 
simple  formula,  and  to  the  special  plea  of  "  God  bless 
papa,  God  bless  mamma,"  at  the  close.  And  when  the 
child  rose  up  her  question  smote  him  like  a  blow  : 

"  Papa,  why  don't  you  pray  ?" 

He  made  some  hasty  answer,  and  kissed  her  haunting 
lips  good-night.  Then  he  went  down  street  and  into  the 
bank,  and  tried  to  labor  there.  But  his  mind  would  not 
fix  itself  on  matters  of  finance.  Between  him  and  credit 
balances,  bills  of  exchange,  discounts,  and  the  like  came 
persistently  that  little  form  in  white  ;  over  and  over  he 
heard  again  the  prayer  breathed  softly  at  his  knee,  and 
echoing  in  his  ears,  with  sweet  and  strange  persistence 
that  would  not  be  put  aside,  her  question  repeated  itself  : 

"  Papa,  why  don't  you  pray  ?" 

At  last  he  yielded  to  the  influences  which  he  could  not 
control,  thrust  business  considerations  quite  away,  and 
did  the  soberest  thinking  he  had  done  for  many  a  month. 
And  in  the  midst  of  commercial  success,  facing  what 
promised  to  be  a  widely  prosperous  future,  he  resolved 
hereafter  to  be  as  active  for  God  as  for  Clinton  Fisk,  and 
to  leaven  all  his  business  life  with  prayer. 

Bolting  his  safes  and  turning  the  key  of  his  bank  door, 
he  walked  homeward.  Reaching  there,  he  sat  down  near 
his  wife  and  said  : 

"  Did  you  hear  the  question  Mary  asked  me,  Jean- 
nette  ?" 

"  Yes,  Clinton,  I  heard  it,"  answered  Mrs.  Fisk. 

"  "Well,  Jenny,  I've  been  thinking  it  all  over,  and 
I've  made  up  my  mind  that,  with  God's  help,  we'll  have 


MARRIAGE   AND   BUSINESS   AT   COLDWATER.  45 

all  the  praying  there  ought  to  be  in  this  household  here 
after.  If  you'll  hand  me  the  Bible,  we'll  begin  now." 

So  there  and  then,  with  the  Book  in  hand  and  a  new 
resolve  in  his  heart,  they  set  up  a  family  altar  which 
neither  time  nor  care  nor  disaster  has  torn  down.  And 
often  since  that  night  the  question  of  little  Mary  has  come 
to  him  with  talismanic  charm  and  sent  him  to  the  surest 
source  of  help  and  comfort.  When  burdens  have  pressed 
heavily  upon  him,  or  grief  has  overwhelmed,  or  great 
sacrifices  have  made  him  sore,  or  great  losses  have  made 
him  well-nigh  bankrupt  of  all  but  faith — in  the  stress  of 
business,  in  the  shock  of  battle,  in  the  darkness  of 
national  conflict — sweet  and  clear  and  with  another  em 
phasis  his  ears  and  heart  have  heard  it  again  and  again— 

"  Papa,  why  don't  yvxiprayf" 

Following  this  almost  new  conversion,  Mr.  Fisk  gave 
himself  as  actively  to  church  as  to  other  interests. 

"  He  was  the  best  Sunday-school  superintendent  we 
ever  had  !"  not  long  since  testified  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  Coldwater  Methodist  Church. 

His  readiness  of  speech,  his  retentive  memory,  his  old 
habit  of  declamation,  helped  him  in  every  department  of 
public  effort.  His  Christian  spirit,  moreover,  was  so 
catholic  that  he  quickly  won  men  to  the  Master's  work. 

Writing  to  a  friend  years  later,  he  said  : 

"  My  early  association  with  different  branches  of  the 
living  church  of  Christ  has  through  all  my  subsequent  life 
given  me  freedom  from  sectarian  bias.  I  am  at  home 
with  all  believers  everywhere." 

About  this  time  his  public  temperance  activities  began. 
He  seems  to  have  been  born  with  a  twin  hatred  for 
slavery  and  the  liquor  traffic,  if  so  severe  a  term  be  com 
patible  with  so  mild  a  nature.  As  a  boy  in  Clinton  we 
have  seen  how  he  stood  for  total  abstinence,  and  how  his 


46  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf  FISK. 

influence  was  exerted  upon  those  within  its  range.  To 
the  mother-side  of  him,  no  doubt,  this  trend  of  life  was 
due.  True  throughout  those  years  of  youth  to  the  prin 
ciple  of  personal  prohibition,  with  man's  responsibility 
he  must  espouse  and  advocate  Prohibition  for  the  State 
as  well.  He  could  see  no  other  consistent  course. 

The  first  great  tidal  wave  of  Prohibition  reform  had 
swept  across  our  country  from  Maine  to  Iowa.  It  was 
the  logical  sequence  of  Washingtonianism.  No  earnest, 
widespread  work  of  moral  suasion  ever  was  or  ever  will 
be  conducted  but  that  closely  in  its  wake  you  shall  see 
the  sweep  of  statutes  and  legal  force.  State  after  State 
had  adopted  u  the  Maine  law,"  as  commonly  termed, 
and  among  them  Michigan:  And  even  so  early  as  1855 
it  was  clear  to  many  that  a  law  fares  best  in  the  hands 
of  its  friends — that  a  State  policy,  formulated  in  law, 
will  be  upheld  and  established  in  State  government  only 
by  executors  of  the  law  who  believe  in  the  policy.  It 
happened,  therefore — no,  it  was  inevitable — that  there 
should  be  "  Maine  law  tickets "  nominated  by  the 
Maine  Law  Party  in  some  States  and  many  places.  Not 
that  there  was  a  party  bearing  that  name  in  every  or  any 
State  having  the  Maine  law.  But  parties  may  be  and  be 
nameless.  A  party  is  only  one  of  the  parts  into  which 
the  people  are  divided  on  some  question  of  public  con 
cern,  and  always  upon  the  question  of  temperance 
people  are  divided.  There  is  always,  then,  a  temper 
ance  party,  and  there  must  be  so  long  as  the  liquor  traffic 
exists.  It  may  not  always  assert  itself  in  the  way  of 
political  nominations,  but  while  law  requires  enforce 
ment,  and  enforcement  must  come  through  officials, 
temperance  conviction  and  purpose  will  quite  likely 
manifest  itself  through  party  action  at  the  polls. 

There  were  "  Maine  law  tickets  ' '  in  Michigan.     There 


MARRIAGE    AND   BUSINESS   AT   COLDWATER.  47 

was  one  at  Coldwater.  With  such  a  name  that  place 
could  not  well  avoid  having  such  a  ticket.  Liking  that 
name,  believing  in  the  idea  it  symbolized,  earnest  for 
the  success  of  a  law  which  embodied  the  idea,  Clinton 
B.  Fisk  could  not  refuse  that  ticket  the  strength  of  his 
name.  And  thus  he  became  a  candidate  for  Justice  of 
the  Peace.  He  was  not  elected,  for  still  he  was  on  the 
unpopular  side,  but  his  own  popularity  almost  carried 
the  day.  And  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  standing  for 
truth  and  right,  though  he  missed  the  glory  of  victory. 

The  same  year  or  the  next  he  went  back  to  his  boyhood 
home  for  another  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  taking  the 
Coldwater  Band  with  him.  Of  course  Clinton  people 
turned  out  en  masse  to  see  and  hear  the  boy  Clinton 
Fisk,  growTn  to  a  manhood  of  which  they  could  feel 
proud.  His  address  is  well  remembered  by  those  now 
living  who  were  there.  It  dealt  a  good  deal  in  remi 
niscence,  and  the  speaker  evoked  laughter  and  tears  at  his 
will.  It  was  wonderful  to  many  ;  what  must  it  have 
been  to  the  mother  whose  love  never  failed  him,  and 
whose  faith  in  him  was  finding  ample  realization  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DOLLAR  FOR  DOLLAR. 

CRIPPEN'S  EXCHANGE  BANK  finally  occupied  the  corner 
of  a  brick  block  north  side  of  the  main  street  which  Mr. 
Crippen  erected  in  185tt  and  in  which  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Cold  water  now  has  quarters  as  its  lineal  descend 
ant.  When  this  block  was  built  the  bank  had  large  de 
posits  and  made  larger  loans.  Its  capital  and  its  credit 
were  widely  spread  out  in  mortgages  throughout  South 
ern  Michigan  and  Northern  Indiana.  Those  were  the 
days  of  ten  per  cent  and  big  discounts.  The  farmers 
must  have  money,  and  could  afford,  or  thought  they  could, 
the  heavy  interest  exacted.  They  bought  land  at  low 
prices  on  time,  and  they  raised  large  crops.  They  pros 
pered  in  appearance  if  not  in  fact  ;  and  many  of  them, 
as  is  well  known,  paid  comfortably  out  of  debt. 

The  financial  crash  of  1857  found  bankers  everywhere 
with  a  host  of  debtors  and  comparatively  small  piles  of 
cash.  Like  other  extensive  business  men,  Crippen  & 
Fisk  had  reached  out  widely  in  many  directions.  They 
had  their  country  stores,  including  one  managed  by  Wel 
come  V.  Fisk  in  Clinton  ;  their  saw-  and  grist-mills  ; 
their  Western  lands  ;  their  farms,  and  blocks  and  other 
rental  property.  They  had  loaned  money  on  every  side. 
They  were  assisting  a  railroad  down  on  the  Eel  River  in 
Indiana.  So  fortunate  had  they  been  throughout  several 
years  of  extensive  financiering  that  they  gave  less  heed  than 
perhaps  they  should  have  given  to  signs  of  business  distress 


DOLLAR   FOR    DOLLAR.  49 

Then  came  the  great  panic.  One  by  one  heaviest 
banking  houses  went  down.  Speculation  had  started  an 
avalanche  which  would  not  be  stayed.  At  all  the  great 
money  centres  credit  nearly  ceased.  Business  suffered 
as  by  a  paralytic  stroke.  Confidence  fled  everywhere. 
The  bank  that  did  not  fail  was  an  exception.  It  was 
considered  no  discredit  to  suspend.  Assignments  were 
too  common  almost  for  record. 

In  the  midst  of  his  prosperity  Mr.  Fisk  saw  the  cyclone 
close  at  hand,  and  marvelled  what  the  end  would  be. 
But  he  did  not  murmur  when  wreck  impended.  With 
stronger  manliness  than  some  accredited  to  so  sunny, 
suave  a  temperament,  he  faced  the  storm.  It  swept 
over  him  as  over  all.  Creditors  wanted  their  cash,  but 
borrowers  could  not  pay.  The  mortgages  on  property 
round  about  were  good  security,  but  not  current  for  bank 
bills.  He  was  advised  to  assign  and  save  utter  ruin.  He 
risked  the  ruin,  but  would  not  assign.  Temporarily  his 
bank  suspended,  because  temporarily  it  could  not  com 
mand  the  current  funds  wherewith  to  meet  presented 
claims  ;  but  no  assignment  was  made,  no  creditors  brought 
suit,  no  judgment  decrees  "were  entered  up. 

A  little  shock  to  the  community  followed  Crippen  & 
Fisk's  suspension,  but  no  serious  general  results.  Their 
depositors  were  well  protected,  and  a  universal  feeling 
prevailed  that  Mr.  Fisk  would  come  out  all  right,  give 
him  fair  chance.  With  cheerful  energy  and  unselfish 
purpose  he  set  about  mastering  misfortune  and  meeting 
their  obligations.  He  labored  as  never  before.  By  day 
and  night  he  bent  every  energy  of  body  and  brain  to  the 
task.  He  spent  himself  with  a  prodigality  unmatched 
in  all  his  endeavors  hitherto.  Having  refused  the  advice 
of  well-meaning  associates,  he  must  prove  his  policy  the 
better  one  at  any  physical  cost. 


50  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEK   FISK. 

And  so  he  proved  it.  He  paid  in  full  every  valid 
claim,  according  to  the  testimony  of  business  men  now  in 
Cold  water  who  were  familiar  with  the  facts  ;  moreover, 
he  paid  full  interest. 

"  His  record  is  as  clean  as  any  man's  on  earth,"  said 
one  leading  merchant  of  the  town  long  afterward. 

And  he  did  not  wholly  impoverish  himself,  except  in 
strength  of  nerve  and  brain.  His  handsome  farm  was 
left,  and  something  besides,  when  months  of  unremitting 
care  and  perplexity  were  over  and  the  final  settlements 
all  made.  It  mattered  more,  perhaps,  that  health  was 
gone  than  the  larger  share  of  fortune  ;  it  mattered  most 
that  no  man  suffered  loss  which  he  could  prevent,  though 
he  lost  all. 

The  bank  was  given  up,  and  the  banking  business. 
The  firm  of  L.  D.  Crippen  &  Son  and  of  Crippen  & 
Fisk  was  dissolved.  For  the  junior  partner  there  re 
mained  nothing  immediate  but  to  restore  a  shattered  ner 
vous  system  by  regaining  wasted  physical  strength.  For 
a  year  ensuing  he  gave  himself  to  that  achievement. 
The  farm  helped  him.  A  sound  constitution  assisted. 
Clean  habits  of  life  were  in  his  favor.  Hopefulness  and 
good- will  toward  men,  and  the  good- will  0/*men,  were 
co-ordinate  agents.  He  was  not  born  to  despond.  With 
manhood  left,  and  Christian  faith,  and  returning  health, 
there  were  surely  more  good  times  ahead.  As  God 
might  will,  he  should  come  to  them. 

In  the  fall  of  1858  the  ^Etna  Insurance  Company  of 
Hartford,  Conn. ,  proposed  that  Mr.  Fisk  should  become 
their  Western  financial  agent,  with  headquarters  at  St. 
Louis.  It  was  a  timely  proposition,  because  it  offered 
activities  to  his  taste  which  he  now  felt  physically  able 
to  undertake,  with  sufficient  travel  to  aid  in  the  complete 
restoration  of  health.  They  paid  his  expenses  to  go  and 


DOLLAR   FOR   DOLLAR.  51 

look  over  the  field.  Hitherto  he  had  been  too  busy 
with  local  affairs  for  rambling  much  abroad,  and  what 
he  saw  was  like  a  revelation.  He  enjoyed  the  Western 
dash  and  spirit.  His  quick  business  instinct  recognized 
the  immense  commercial  possibilites  of  that  wide  new 
West.  He  decided  for  St.  Louis  and  a  new  future. 

During  the  next  year  or  two  he  travelled  much  up  and 
down  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  across  the  States  con 
tiguous.  He  saw  the  South — the  South  of  cotton-grow 
ing  Arkansas  and  Mississippi  and  Louisiana — the  South 
of  cotton  and  of  slaves.  Abolitionist  as  from  boyhood, 
he  insured  the  lives  of  many  a  slave  band  shipped  south 
ward  from  St.  Louis,  and  went  upon  many  a  plantation 
where  slavery  exhibited  its  worst  and  its  more  humane 
qualities.  Some  of  those  old  Mississippi  planters  might 
not  have  greeted  him  so  cordially  had  they  known  of  his 
early  Underground  Railroad  connection  at  Spring  Arbor. 
He  enjoyed  his  work,  despite  some  associations  which  re 
pelled,  and  his  wide  contact  with  men.  He  formed 
friendships  both  North  and  South  that  were  cherished. 

Some  weeks  of  one  winter  he  spent  as  a  lobbyist  about 
the  Illinois  Legislature,  at  Springfield.  His  mission  was 
to  prevent  insurance  legislation  that  should  keep  his 
company  from  pushing  business  in  that  State.  It  was 
then  that  his  acquaintance  with  Abraham  Lincoln  began. 
Bishop  Simpson  at  that  time  resided  in  Springfield,  or 
was  often  there,  and  Governor  Evans,  of  Colorado,  was 
a  legislator  in  the  body  which  there  met.  With  these 
two  gentlemen  Mr.  Fisk  often  spent  an  evening  at  Mr. 
Lincoln's  house,  and  listened  to  the  great  man's  quaint 
stories  arid  homely  talk.  Lincoln  was  not  then  widely 
thought  of  for  the  Presidency,  but  throughout  Illinois 
he  had  been  long  a  popular  idol.  Between  him  and 
Bishop  Simpson  there  existed  a  strong  attachment  of 


52  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

which  the  country  learned  something  a  few  years  later 
on.  And  the  bishop  had  even  then  come  to  know  Clin 
ton  E.  Fisk  as  a  wide-awake,  level-headed,  warm-hearted 
Methodist  layman  of  great  power  in  Sunday-school  work 
and  great  promise  in  other  ways. 

On  one  visit  to  Mississippi  Mr.  Fisk  was  entertained 
at  a  village  boarding-house  for  a  little  time,  and  saw 
come  in  and  take  seat  at  another  table  a  tall,  sallow, 
bent,  black-haired  young  man,  with  the  look  of  a  student 
so  positive  in  his  face  as  to  excite  curiosity.  He  made 
inquiry  and  learned  the  young  man's  name.  It  was 
Professor  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  now  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

St.  Louis  was  the  metropolis  of  a  slave  State,  the 
northwestern  entrepot  of  the  whole  region  dominated  by 
slavery.  It  lay  in  that  debatable  land  known  then  as 
"the  border,"  and  life  there  between  1858  and  1861 
was  in  a  growing  ferment.  Mr.  Fisk  felt  and  heard  the 
mutterings  of  a  political  earthquake  long  before  they 
shook  our  Northern  country.  He  was  one  in  whom  both 
sides  put  confidence.  He  antagonized  no  one.  He  won 
the  regard  of  all.  He  knew  the  spirit  of  the  North  ;  he 
had  grown  familiar  with  the  feeling  and  views  of  the 
South.  He  feared  a  bloody  contest  some  time  before  it 
came.  Yet  how  little  he  dreamed  of  having  responsible, 
part  in  it  himself  !  How  unconscious  he  was  that  often 
he  met  right  there,  in  the  city  of  his  home,  the  man  who 
was  to  be  military  chieftain  in  the  end  !  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  lived  then  in  St.  Louis,  and  gave  no  token  of  the 
greatness  in  him.  Mr.  Fisk  knew  him  well,  and  had 
dealings  with  him  often.  But  it  was  not  then  the  Grant 
of  the  war  and  the  White  House. 

His  business  prospered,  his  health  came  back,  and  Mr. 
Fisk  had  no  reason  to  be  apprehensive  on  his  own  ac- 


DOLLAR   FOR   DOLLAR.  53 

count.  But  as  the  days  wore  on  lie  grew  deeply  con 
cerned  about  public  affairs.  In  politics  he  was  a  Repub 
lican,  having  helped  to  organize  that  party  in  1856,  and 
he  voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  course.  He  was  polit 
ically  ardent.  He  believed  intensely  in  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  Despite  its  financial  power,  its  constitutional 
grip,  its  church  domination  and  its  partisan  tyranny,  he 
was  certain  it  must  and  would  be  smitten  and  put  away. 
But  he  knew  how  slavery  would  fight  to  live,  and  how 
the  States  Rights  idea  was  fixed  in  the  bed-rock  of 
Southern  political  faith.  He  might  well  dread  the  issue. 
He  did  dread  it.  But  with  sure  forecast  he  helped  to 
shape  conditions  for  righteous  success  when  it  should 
come. 

For  months  before  the  outbreak  in  1861  bodies  of  men 
were  practising  secret  military  drill  in  St.  Louis.  Both 
sides  had  organized  thus  quietly  for  what  they  felt  in 
evitable.  So  sharply  was  public  sentiment  divided  that 
there  grew  up  general  distrust  and  doubt.  Only  by 
secret  oath  did  any  one  feel  sure  of  even  his  neighbor. 
Yet  spite  of  much  Union  sentiment  it  appeared  natural 
that  St.  Louis'  location  and  interests  should  throw  her 
final  choice  with  the  South,  if  time  of  choosing  came. 

In  the  ranks  of  those  who  secretly  drilled  for  liberty 
and  union,  and  among  the  earliest  there,  was  Clinton 
B.  Fisk.  He  asked  no  place  of  honor.  With  some 
hundreds  of  well-known  business  men — merchants,  bank 
ers,  lawyers,  and  the  like — he  regularly  shouldered  a 
musket,  and  was  taught  the  manual  of  arms.  They 
met  in  a  disused  and  somewhat  remote  warehouse,  going 
to  it  singly  and  from  different  points  of  approach,  and 
were  admitted  only  after  giving  the  countersign.  All 
through  that  winter  of  1860-61  their  secret  preparations 
were  making  for  later  open  acts. 


54  LIFE   OF   CLIHTOH   BOWEN   FISK. 

When  Sumter  was  fired  on,  as  if  by  magic  there 
sprang  into  active  organization  a  well-drilled  body  of 
Missouri  Home  Guards  for  loyal  service  in  defence  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  In  the  Third  Regiment,  as  a  private, 
stood  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  and  his  name  was  one  of  the  first 
upon  the  muster-roll  of  Company  C. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A    PRIVATE    SOLDIER. 

THE  Missouri  Home  Guards  were  enlisted  for  ninety 
days  only,  and  saw  little  exciting  service.  They  were 
mainly  a  check  against  local  eruptions  of  disloyal  sym 
pathy.  They  did  one  day  march  out  to  a  Confederate 
camp  on  the  edge  of  town  and  capture  it.  It  looked 
like  the  beginning  of  open  war.  Governor  Jackson  was 
a  secessionist,  and  the  whole  State  officiary  were  with 
him  for  carrying  Missouri  out  of  the  Union.  By  his  act 
State  arms  had  been  supplied  to  disloyal  citizens  of  St. 
Louis,  drilling  with  disloyal  intent,  and  they  were  sworn 
into  State  service.  Under  command  of  one  Frost,  com 
missioned  a  brigadier-general  by  Jackson  for  that  pur 
pose,  they  formed  a  militia  camp  in  the  suburbs,  and, 
that  their  true  character  might  not  be  known,  kept  flying 
over  it  the  American  flag.  Their  purpose  was  to  seize 
the  United  States  Arsenal,  with  all  its  valuable  stores,  and 
master  the  really  dominant  Union  majority  with  one 
blow. 

The  arsenal  was  in  command  of  Captain  Nathaniel 
Lyon,  and  guarded  by  500  regular  troops.  By  Presi 
dential  order  the  loyal  citizens  were  also  enrolled  under 
him,  forming  the  Home  Guards,  and  these  were  quar 
tered  at  the  arsenal  and  on  ground  near  by.  They 
formed  part  of  the  Union  force  which,  commanded  by 
Captain  Lyon  and  Colonel  Frank  Blair,  early  on  the 
afternoon  of  May  9th  swept  round  the  secession  Camp 


56  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEIST    FISK. 

Jackson,  with  its  1200  men,  and  demanded  immediate 
surrender.  The  movement  was  not  quite  a  surprise,  but 
Frost  had  no  time  for  defensive  preparation,  and  at 
tempted  no  defence.  An  armed  mob  of  secessionists 
from  the  city  rushed  out  to  assist  their  friends,  but  they 
came  too  late.  There  was  rioting  on  the  streets,  and 
some  firing  resulted  whereby  the  crowd  and  the  soldiery 
suffered  ;  but  it  could  not  rank  as  a  battle,  though  it 
might  have  been  a  bloody  one. 

Among  those  whom  Mr.  Fisk  saw  as  his  regiment 
marched  out  that  day  was  W.  T.  Sherman.  He  was  not 
then  a  general  nor  a  private,  only  an  interested  civilian. 
He  stood  in  a  field  near  by,  holding  by  the  hand  a  little 
boy,  and  watching  curiously  this  initial  military  move 
ment  in  the  State  where  he  lived. 

Great  excitement  followed  in  St.  Louis  several  days 
and  nights  afterward,  and  the  Home  Guards  wTere  on 
duty  as  an  armed  police  much  of  the  time  throughout 
the  balance  of  their  three  months'  term.  There  was 
bloodshed  in  the  city  but  twice  ;  there  was  promise  or 
probability  of  it  through  riotous  demonstration  almost 
every  day.  Perhaps  nowhere  else  save  at  Baltimore  did 
there  seem  such  insecurity  and  hourly  pending  revolu 
tion.  The  status  of  Missouri  was  more  peculiar  than  that 
of  any  other  State.  East,  west,  and  north  it  was  bounded 
by  loyalty,  and  its  metropolis  was  counted  a  Union  city  ; 
but  the  Legislature,  sitting  at  Jefferson,  favored  disunion, 
and  would  support  Governor  Jackson  in  any  secession 
course  he  might  pursue  ;  and  the  financial  influences  of 
St.  Louis  were  largely  wielded  to  the  same  end.  There 
was  actual  if  not  open  defiance  of  the  National  Govern 
ment  by  State  authority  ;  and  as  a  condition  vital  to 
pacification,  Governor  Jackson  demanded  immediate 
disbanding  of  the  Home  Guards.  To  this  Lyon,  now 


A   PRIVATE   SOLDIER.  57 

made  a  brigadier- general,  would  not  listen,  and  on  June 
12th  the  governor  inaugurated  civil  war.  His  procla 
mation  called  into  service  50,000  State  militia,  "  for  the 
purpose  of  repelling  invasion,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  citizens."  The 
possible  neutrality  of  Missouri  became  impossible. 

Quite  a  year  after  being  mustered  out  of  the  Home 
Guards,  Mr.  Fisk  busied  himself  in  many  ways  for  the 
public  behoof,  while  still  endeavoring,  as  best  he  could 
under  conditions  growing  steadily  more  adverse,  to  pro 
mote  the  business  interests  grown  very  extensive  in  his 
charge.  He  was  a  recognized  leader  among  the  Union 
men  of  St.  Louis,  and  his  counsels  were  sought  and  re 
garded  with  growing  respect.  He  went  to  Washington, 
as  soon  as  discharged  from  the  ranks,  and  reached  there 
when  the  first  battle  of  the  war  impended  at  Bull  Run. 
Like  scores  besides,  he  called  upon  President  Lincoln, 
and,  like  some  of  these,  he  urged  a  speedy  forward  move 
ment  "  on  to  Richmond."  He  had  assisted  slightly  in 
capturing  a  camp  of  Confederates  ;  he  believed  the  Con 
federate  capital  could  be  taken  if  prompt  movement 
were  made.  The  President  heard  him  as  a  friend  and 
answered  little,  though  complaining  that  he  had  rather 
more  advice  than  he  knew  what  to  do  with.  He  even 
smiled  with  some  questioning  irony  when  Mr.  Fisk  told 
of  his  purpose  to  join  the  army  and  go  forward  to  Rich 
mond  himself. 

"  I've  ordered  my  mail  sent  there,"  this  Presidential 
visitor  remarked  as  he  took  leave,  "  and  am  going  after 
it." 

With  thousands  more  civilians,  Mr.  Fisk  did  join,  or 
follow,  the  Federal  Army  as  it  marched  from  Arlington 
Heights  to  cross  Bull  Run.  With  them,  and  with,  or 
preceding,  thousands  of  undrilled  soldiers,  their  smart 


58  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

uniforms  all  draggled  and  soiled,  their  spirits  broken 
and  their  faith  temporarily  gone,  he  came  back  to  Wash 
ington.  It  was  his  first  retreat,  and  he  laughs  yet  to 
think  of  the  plight  he  and  so  many  others  fell  into.  His 
hope  for  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war  vanished  as  he 
sought  the  capital  again. 

Hour  after  hour  the  retreating  crowds  poured  in.  Mem 
bers  of  Congress,  citizens,  visitors  from  every  Northern 
State,  and  the  disheartened  soldiery,  afoot,  on  horseback, 
by  carriage,  returned  to  the  excited  town.  Singly,  or  in 
squads  and  shattered  companies,  the  soldiers  came,  grimy 
with  powder  and  dust,  exhausted  from  lack  of  food. 

Standing  in  front  of  Willard's,  Mr.  Fisk  saw  some 
stragglers  from  a  Michigan  regiment  passing  wearily  by. 
Love  for  his  old  State  and  pity  for  those  who  wore  the 
blue  prompted  an  act  of  sympathy,  and  uniting  with  two 
or  three  other  Michigan  gentlemen,  he  invited  the  boys  in 
to  a  square  meal.  They  had  eaten  nothing  in  twenty-four 
to  thirty-six  hours,  and  were  about  famished.  Having 
satisfied  these,  Mr.  Fisk  and  his  friends  told  them  to  send 
every  regimental  comrade  there  who  might  come  in  for 
like  hospitality.  Their  story  was  that  the  regiment  had 
all  been  cut  up  and  nearly  every  man  killed.  To  the 
amazement  of  their  entertainers,  the  survivors  kept  re 
porting  and  being  fed  until  several  hundreds  were  filled 
up  ;  and  the  bill  for  their  entertainment  proved  a  stand 
ing  joke  against  those  by  whom  it  was  paid. 

Mr.  Fisk  called  on  the  President  as  he  was  about  to 
return  home.  With  a  touch  of  mild  sarcasm  in  his  voice, 
Mr.  Lincoln  asked  : 

"  Did  you  order  your  mail  forwarded  from  Rich 
mond  ?"  " 

And  then,  his  sad  face  lighting  with  a  smile,  he  re 
marked  :  "You  may  not  get  it  unless  you  did." 


A   PRIVATE   SOLDIER.  59 

Shaking  Mr.  Fisk's  hand  as  lie  took  leave,  the  Presi 
dent  slowly  said  : 

"  You  must  all  have  patience,  my  friend.  I  am  bound 
to  do  my  best.  This  will  be  a  mighty  struggle.  God 
only  knows  how  it  will  end.  But  tell  all  your  friends  to 
be  patient — very  patient." 

Sectional  feeling  ran  so  deep,  and  the  wall  of  partisan 
partition  grew  so  high,  in  St.  Louis,  that  religious  and 
business  associations  were  moulded  chiefly  thereby. 

A  Union  Methodist  Church  was  formed,  in  the  organ 
ization  of  which  Mr.  Fisk  had  conspicuously  leading  part. 
He  was  first  superintendent  of  its  Sabbath-school,  and 
aided  much  in  making  both  school  and  church  the  posi 
tive  power  which  they  became. 

The  Union  Merchants'  Exchange  owed  its  organization 
to  him.  In  the  old  Exchange,  which  long  had  been  the 
city's  commercial  right  arm,  there  were  two  bodies  corre 
sponding  to  the  upper  and  lower  houses  of  Congress. 
The  upper  branch  controlled,  officially,  and  that  was  thor 
oughly  disloyal.  As  a  result,  the  Exchange  threw  all  its 
mighty  organic  influence  against  Union  and  on  the  side 
of  Jackson  and  the  Confederacy.  An  effort  was  put 
forth  in  January,  1862,  to  elect  a  Union  ticket  and 
change  this  hostile  attitude,  but  it  failed.  Then  Mr. 
Fisk  mounted  a  table  in  the  lower  hall  and  made  a  speech 
to  the  Union  members.  It  rang  so  true  and  strong,  and 
the  Union  sentiment  of  the  lower  house  was  so  pro 
nounced,  that  immediate  general  secession  followed,  and 
the  formation  of  a  new  Exchange  was  resolved  upon. 
Mr.  Fisk  drew  up  the  articles  of  association,  personally 
hired  quarters  for  it  in  a  new  building  owned  by  a  seces 
sionist  of  another  type  than  himself,  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  the  Union  Merchants'  Exchange  was  fully  organ 
ized,  with  a  membership  of  hundreds,  with  financial 


60  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

support  unlimited,  and  comfortably  housed  in  a  central 
location,  where  it  flung  out  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
compelled  instant  respect.  It  sapped  the  vital  resources 
of  the  old  Exchange,  and  soon  took  head  place  as  the  ex 
ponent  of  St.  Louis'  business  capital,  while  it  stood  loyally 
for  freedom  and  the  Union.  Mr.  Fisk  was  its  secretary 
and  active  spirit.  To  it  he  gave  his  best  energies,  be 
lieving  that  so  he  could  well  serve  the  country's  need. 

In  July  of  the  same  year  President  Lincoln  requested 
him  to  raise  a  regiment  of  volunteers.  It  was  to  be  one 
of  eight  that  Missouri's  quota  required  under  national 
call  for  300,000  more  troops.  The  President  asked  that 
behind  this  one,  at  least,  the  Union  Merchants'  Ex 
change  should  stand,  with  influence  to  secure  it  and 
means  to  see  it  equipped.  Mr.  Fisk  laid  the  matter 
before  his  associates  of  the  Exchange  directory.  It  was 
clear  to  all  by  this  time  that  more  men  and  more  money 
must  be  forthcoming  if  the  Union  were  saved.  The 
loyal  merchants,  through  their  officials  represented, 
agreed  to  meet  the  demand.  Mr.  Fisk  was  bidden  go 
ahead,  with  ample  assurance  from  his  colleagues  of  co 
operation  and  support.  His  own  loyal  devotion  empha 
sized  the  command. 

Receiving  proper  authority  July  26th,  1862,  he 
donned  the  blue,  opened  an  office,  flung  out  his  flag, 
and  had  forty  men  recruited  before  sunset.  His  prompt 
ness  was  ever  a  conspicuous  quality.  Deciding  on  a 
given  course,  he  would  move  forward  without  delay  and 
with  despatch.  The  times  now  were  imperious  for  haste. 

In  six  weeks  the  Thirty-third  Regiment  of  Missouri 
Volunteers  stood  complete.  On  September  5th  Clinton 
B.  Fisk  was  commissioned  its  colonel  and  the  regiment 
mustered  in. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A    COMMANDER    OF    MEN. 

COLONEL  FISK'S  recognized  character  helped  on  the 
celerity  shown.  The  fathers  who  knew  him  were  will 
ing  to  trust  him  with  their  sons.  His  Christian  influence 
made  steadily  for  the  good  of  all. 

While  the  regiment  was  forming,  Colonel  Fisk  held 
regimental  religious  services  every  Sunday  afternoon  in 
the  great  amphitheatre  of  the  Fair  Grounds,  occupied 
then  by  troops,  and  known  as  Benton  Barracks,  close 
by  town.  Thousands  of  citizens  attended  them.  The 
city  pastors  preached  in  turn.  None  will  ever  forget 
the  effect  of  those  meetings  who  had  part  in  them. 
They  were  wonderfully  impressive. 

One  of  the  sermons  was  by  Rev.  Dr.  Nelson,  and 
before  its  close  he  made  a  personal  appeal  of  great  power. 
It  was  a  sober,  solemn  time,  for  the  Thirty-third  was  to 
march  next  day,  and  in  its  welfare  all  the  State  felt 
special  interest.  Cautioning  the  men  against  various  sins 
which  army  life  might  induce,  Dr.  Nelson  spoke  of  the 
sin  of  profanity.  After  dwelling  upon  it  a  little,  he 
told  of  a  certain  commodore  who  made  a  contract  with 
every  midshipman  that  he,  the  commodore,  should  do 
all  the  swearing  for  the  ship  ;  and  in  substance  he  said  : 
"  Now,  I  want  all  of  you  to  agree  that  Colonel  Fisk  shall 
do  all  the  swearing  for  the  Thirty-third  Regiment.  As 
many  of  you  as  will  enter  into  this  contract  stand  up  !" 

Instantly  the  whole  regiment  rose  to  their  feet,  and  in 


62  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

solemn  silence  the  covenant  was  made.  And  all  knew 
what  it  meant,  for  they  had  a  praying  colonel,  and  at 
his  headquarters,  conspicuously  visible  upon  the  wall,  this 
placard  they  had  read  : 

SWEAR  NOT  AT  ALL. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  Third  Commandment  and  the 
Third  Article  of  War. 

And  six  hundred  of  the  regiment  were  praying  men. 

On  September  15th  Colonel  Fisk's  regiment  was 
ordered  to  report  at  Rolla,  which  place  it  entered  one 
week  later.  So  successful  had  his  recruiting  service  been, 
that  he  was  soon  returned  to  St.  Louis  with  instructions 
to  recruit  other  regiments  and  form  a  brigade.  By  order 
of  Major-General  Curtis,  then  commanding  the  depart 
ment  of  Missouri,  he  was  (October  28th)  assigned  to 
duty  for  that  purpose  at  that  officer's  headquarters, 
where  he  remained  nearly  two  months.  On  November 
24th  he  was  notified  by  Secretary  Stanton  of  his  appoint 
ment  as  brigadier-general,  and  as  such  was  reassigned 
to  headquarters  at  St.  Louis  by  General  Curtis,  Decem 
ber  1st. 

Having  completed  the  organization  of  his  brigade,  in 
which  labor  he  still  had  the  co-operation  of  those  who, 
by  their  substantial  help,  had  made  its  initial  organization 
known  as  the  "  Merchants'  Regiment,"  on  December 
24:tli  General  Fisk  was  ordered  by  General  Curtis  to 
Helena,  Ark.,  with  his  command,  "  reporting  en  route 
to  Brigadier-General  Davies,  commanding  post,  Colum 
bus,  Ky. ,  for  temporary  duty  as  commander  of  all  forces 
sent  to  General  Davies  from  this  department." 

Columbus,  base  of  supplies  for  all  the  Federal  troops 
in  Mississippi,  was  threatened  by  Yan  Dorn  and  Frost, 


A   COMMANDER   OF   MEN.  63 

the  former  of  whom  had  just  captured  Holly  Springs, 
with  a  large  quantity  of  stores  that  General  Grant  had  left 
there,  and  was  supposed  to  be  sweeping  northward. 
General  Fisk  reported  to  General  Davies  on  the  26th,  and 
joined  with  him  in  defence  of  that  post  until  January  8th, 
1863,  remaining  there  twelve  days.  Then  the  threatened 
danger  being  no  longer  imminent,  General  Fisk  trans 
ferred  his  brigade  to  Helena,  where  he  reported  for  duty 
on  the  llth  to  General  Gorman,  commanding  the  dis 
trict  of  Eastern  Arkansas. 

General  Grant  was  then  actively  pushing  military  oper 
ations  through  all  that  region  tributary  to  the  Mississippi 
between  Memphis  and  Vicksburg.  The  latter  was  his 
objective  point.  If  he  could  capture  that  and  remove 
the  Confederate  blockade  there  established,  immense 
gains  must  accrue.  His  approaches  to  and  investments 
of  the  place  were  attempted  from  every  direction.  With 
patience  characteristic  of  himself,  he  sought  out  various 
lines  of  attack  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  and  hesi 
tated  at  no  obstacle  in  his  path.  The  story  of  that  cam 
paign  is  one  long  record  of  hardship,  loss,  and  disappoint 
ment,  extending  over  many  weeks  before  the  tide  of 
success  was  turned.  Much  depended,  for  Grant  and 
for  the  nation,  upon  what  he  should  do  and  what  results 
might  soon  follow. 

One  of  the  movements  preliminary  to  his  more  impor 
tant  ones  was  the  White  Kiver  expedition,  which  General 
Fisk  was  immediately  ordered  to  join  on  reaching 
Helena.  It  proceeded  up  the  White  River  to  Duvall's 
Bluff,  where  a  lively  engagement  took  place,  and  then 
returned,  occupying  ten  days.  Back  at  Helena  January 
22d,  General  Fisk  was  there  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Second  Infantry  Division  of  the  Army  of  East 
Arkansas,  and  had  placed  his  forces  upon  transports,  for 


64  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

embarking  them  to  Milli ken's  Bend,  when  the  order  was 
countermanded  by  his  superior,  and  they  went  into  camp 
at  Helena. 

They  remained  there  about  three  weeks.  Meanwhile, 
Grant  was  hoping  and  striving  to  reach  Yicksburg  from 
the  northeast,  via  the  Yazoo  River.  It  appeared  to  him 
the  easiest  and  safest  route.  Nearly  opposite  Helena  is 
Yazoo  Pass,  a  crooked  bayou  reaching  from  the  Cold- 
water  to  the  Mississippi,  which  two  rivers  are  at  this 
point  but  ten  miles  apart.  In  former  times  the  pass 
was  navigable  for  ordinary  steamboats  ;  and  the  regular 
route  for  them  between  Memphis  and  Yazoo  City  was 
through  that  to  the  Cold  water  and  down  that  to  the 
Tallahatchie,  which,  uniting  with  the  Yallabusha  and 
other  streams,  finally  swells  to  the  Yazoo,  and  finds  the 
Father  of  Waters  near  Vicksburg.  Before  the  war  a 
levee  had  been  thrown  across  the  pass  on  the  Missis 
sippi's  east  bank,  and  Grant's  idea  now  was  to  cut  this, 
let  the  current  once  more  along  the  old  water-way,  and 
float  his  army  down  to  the  Yazoo  River's  mouth. 

The  levee  was  cut  February  3d  by  Colonel  Wilson  of 
Grant's  staff,  who  exploded  a  mine  under  it,  and  whom 
General  Gorman,  in  command  still  at  Helena,  was 
ordered  to  assist  as  needed.  Four  days  later  a  gunboat 
entered  the  pass  and  found  plenty  of  water  in  it,  also  an 
excess  of  trees.  Confederates  had  felled  the  latter  across 
it  and  across  the  narrow  Cold  water  in  great  numbers  to 
render  each  watercourse  impassable. 

On  February  15th  General  Gorman  was  ordered  to 
send  Ross's  division  through  the  pass  and  along  the 
Coldwater,  the  Tallahatchie,  and  the  Yazoo  rivers,  to  see 
if  they  would  permit  the  passage  of  a  large  force,  and 
thence  up  the  Yallabusha,  to  cut  the  enemy's  railway 
connections  at  Grenada.  Ross's  division  was  the  Thir- 


A   COMMANDER  OF   MEN.  65 

teenth  of  the  Third  Army  Corps,  and  of  it  General 
Fisk's  brigade  formed  part.  It  was  now  ordered  upon 
the  most  important  expedition  yet  attempted  during  the 
Mississippi  campaign,  and  on  its  effort  hinged  mighty 
interests.  If  successful,  it  might  lead  to  the  opening  of 
the  whole  Mississippi  Valley  and  a  complete  severance 
of  the  Confederacy.  To  carry  it  forward,  Admiral 
Porter  sent  several  light-draught  gunboats,  two  ironclads, 
arid  one  ram,  to  protect  the  transports  and  destroy  any 
thing  which  the  Confederates  might  set  afloat. 

It  took  several  days  for  the  fleet  to  make  its  way 
through  the  impedimenta  placed  in  the  pass  and  reach 
the  Coldwater,  but  this  was  accomplished  March  2d. 
Without  waiting  longer,  and  acting  on  advices  from 
"Wilson,  which  said  the  combined  water-ways  were  open, 
General  Grant  planned  to  throw  McPherson's  whole 
corps  of  five  divisions  down  them  and  crowd  Pemberton 
and  Johnston  to  the  wall.  The  advance  body  moved 
on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  for  a  time  with  encouraging 
success.  No  opposing  force  was  encountered  until  half 
the  distance  to  Yicksburg  had  been  traversed,  but  then 
the  fleet  could  no  farther  go. 

Confederate  General  Loring,  ordered  to  defend  the 
Yazoo,  had  erected  a  line  of  works  on  a  peninsula  five  miles 
below  the  Yallabusha's  mouth,  where  the  Yazoo  and  the 
Tallahatchie  are  but  five  hundred  yards  apart.  These 
works  he  christened  Fort  Pemberton,  and  by  them  he 
expected  to  bar  all  passage  down  the  Tallahatchie  and 
the  Yazoo.  March  llth  the  Union  fleet  arrived  at  this 
unlooked-for  obstruction.  It  had  come  thus  far  with 
exceeding  difficulty  and  much  hardship,  covering  but 
few  miles  a  day,  and  earning  by  hard  toil  every  foot  of 
the  course.  None  of  McPherson's  corps  had  yet  come 
through  the  pass,  for  lack  of  boats.  The  whole  fighting 


66  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

force  consisted  of  General  Fisk's  command  and  a  few 
more  of  Ross'  division,  numbering  only  4000  all  told — 
besides  the  gunboats.  Wide  overflows  prevented  the 
landing  of  troops,  and  attack  could  be  made  by  the  boats 
alone.  They  opened  fire  and  bombarded  Fort  Pember- 
ton  all  that  day,  but  with  no  special  harm  to  it.  Next 
day  a  Federal  battery  was  constructed  on  a  bit  of  raised 
and  dry  land  half  a  mile  from  the  fort,  and  all  through 
the  13th  bombardment  was  continued,  but  without  suc 
cess.  The  Confederates  were  masters  of  the  Yazoo  situ 
ation,  and  of  this  fact  no  one  could  have  a  doubt  who 
possessed  familiarity  with  the  river  bottoms  of  Missis 
sippi  and  knew  the  spot  chosen  by  Loring  for  his  blockade. 
The  Yazoo  expedition  was  a  failure,  as  earlier  attempts 
against  Vicksburg  had  been  and  as  more  would  be.  In 
a  few  days  the  fleet  started  back  up  the  river,  but  soon 
met  Quinby  with  one  brigade  of  his  division,  which  had 
penetrated  thus  far.  He  had  met  the  same  obstacles 
which  impeded  the  vessels  ahead  of  him,  and  could  not 
earlier  push  through.  Re-enforced  by  Quinby,  who  now 
assumed  command,  Ross  and  Fisk  turned  about  and  once 
more  assaulted  Fort  Pemberton,  but  without  avail. 
Quinby' s  hope  was  to  find  a  landing-place  for  his  troops 
while  he  sent  the  transports  back  after  the  main  body, 
but  there  was  no  ground  suitable  for  that  purpose.  Then 
he  formed  a  plan  to  swing  round  the  fort,  cross  the  Yal- 
labusha  above  it  on  pontoons,  cut  off  Loring's  base  of  sup 
plies,  and  so  compel  surrender,  and  he  despatched  a  boat 
to  Helena  for  bridge  equipment,  but  it  was  met  by 
another  boat  bearing  Grant's  order  to  abandon  the 
expedition  and  return  at  once.  On  April  5th  General 
Fisk's  command  was  withdrawn  from  Fort  Pemberton 
and  borne  back  to  Helena.  Grant  had  decided  that  not 
enough  light-draught  boats  could  be  had  for  transporting 


A   COMMANDER   OF   MEN.  67 

so  many  men  down  the  Yazoo,  and  gave  up  this  expedi 
tion  before  he  learned  of  the  special  difficulties  which 
were  in  its  way.  The  civilian  wonders  why  he  did  not 
reach  this  vital  conclusion  previous  to  so  much  cost  of 
time  and  means,  but  wonders  more  why  an  expedition 
of  such  difficulty  was  attempted,  its  success  possible  only 
as  a  surprise,  when  surprise  itself  was  impossible,  and 
when,  not  being  surprised,  a  small  force  of  the  enemy 
could  block  the  advance  of  a  whole  Federal  corps  and 
hem  it  in  completely. 

On  his  return  to  Helena,  General  Fisk  went  into  camp 
there  with  his  brigade,  and  had  much  to  do  in  holding 
the  Mississippi  open  for  transportation  of  supplies. 
The  weeks  which  followed  were  not  peaceful,  as  rebel 
forces  occupied  the  country  in  rear  of  them,  under  Mar- 
maduke,  Shelby,  and  Dobbins,  and  frequent  skirmishes 
were  engaged  in,  also  some  considerable  battles.  The 
whole  spring  and  early  summer  were  indeed  full  of  active 
military  work. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SOME  ARMY  INCIDENTS. 

IT  was  while  General  Fisk's  command  lay  at  Helena, 
after  their  return  from  the  Yazoo  expedition,  and  one 
evening  as  he  sat  on  a  bluff  of  the  Mississippi,  looking 
across  its  muddy  current  and  still  muddier  bottoms,  that 
he  heard  some  superlative  swearing  not  far  below.  It 
was  about  the  worst  to  which  he  had  ever  listened,  and 
it  grieved  him  to  think,  indeed  at  first  he  would  not 
believe,  that  it  could  come  from  one  of  his  own  men. 
Walking  out  to  the  edge  of  the  bluff,  and  looking  over, 
he  saw  a  teamster  of  the  Thirty-third,  who  had  been  to 
the  landing  with  a  wagon  and  six  mules,  and,  coming 
back  up  the  river,  had  snagged  on  a  stump  and  broken 
the  wagon-pole.  And,  according  to  this  teamster's  pro 
fane  declarations,  everything  conceivable  and  inconceiv 
able,  in  the  Confederacy  and  out  of  it,  was  in  the  way 
just  at  that  particular  time,  and  to  blame  for  his  mishap. 
He  blamed  everything,  too,  and  everybody,  in  language 
exuberant  with  curses,  till  the  miasmatic  air  seemed 
blue. 

General  Fisk  walked  back  and  sat  down.  By  and  by, 
soberly  leading  his  six  mules,  along  came  the  teamster. 
Saluting  him  kindly,  the  general  said  : 

"  John,  didn't  I  hear  some  one  swearing  dreadfully 
over  there  a  little  while  ago  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  the  man  answered,  "  I  reckon  you  did." 

"  Who  was  it  ?"  asked  the  general. 


SOME   ARMY   INCIDENTS.  69 

e{  That  was  me,  sir,"  he  replied. 

"  But,"  said  General  Fisk,  "  don't  you  remember  the 
covenant  made  up  at  the  Benton  Barracks,  between  you 
and  me  and  the  others  of  the  regiment,  that  I  was  to  do 
all  the  swearing  for  the  Thirty-third  Missouri  during 
the  war?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  the  man  answered,  promptly,  "  I  re 
member  that ;  but  you  were  not  there  to  do  it,  and  it 
had  to  be  done  then." 

General  Fisk  enjoyed  the  humor  of  this  reply,  as 
much  as  he  had  been  pained  by  the  occasion  for  it,  and 
gave  it  over  to  his  staff.  It  gained  wide  currency,  and 
afterward,  through  all  the  Mississippi  region,  whenever 
a  teamster  was  heard  cursing  some  one  would  suggest 
that  he  wait  till  General  Fisk  came  along  and  let  him 
have  the  job. 

Shut  away  from  all  mail  communication,  during  the 
six  weeks  that  the  Yazoo  expedition  lasted,  when  Gen 
eral  Fisk  returned  to  Helena  all  his  men  were  eager 
for  home  news,  and  besieged  the  post-office  tent  at 
once. 

After  receiving  his  own  postal  budget,  with  its  pre 
cious  letters  from  wife  and  children,  and  pastor  and 
Sunday-school,  General  Fisk  sat  down  on  a  log  near  his 
headquarters  tent  to  peruse  them.  He  had  undergone 
toil  and  privation  forty-five  days,  but  the  sorest  privation 
of  all  was  to  miss  these  messages  of  love.  Now  came 
his  compensation,  and  he  lingeringly  read  them  through. 
He  was  not  in  uniform  which  denoted  rank,  and  an  old 
soldier  sitting  by  accosted  him  familiarly. 

"  1  say,  old  fellow,"  said  this  man,  "  I  want  you  to 
read  my  letter  for  me. " 

General  Fisk  turned  and  looked  at  him,  and  then 
reached  out  his  hand,  into  which  the  letter  was  placed. 


70  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK   BOWEtf   FISK. 

In  a  straggling,  downhill  fashion,  it  was  addressed  to 
"  John  Shearer,  Helena,  Ark." 

"  But  can't  yon  read  it  yourself,  John  ?"  the  general 
asked. 

"  No,"  the  man  answered,  half  ashamed. 

"  Then  1  will,  of  course,"  said  the  general ;  "  but 
why  don't  you  know  how  to  read  ?" 

Briefly  the  man  explained.  He  was  an  Iowa  soldier, 
but  born  and  raised  in  a  slave  State,  amid  great  igno 
rance,  and  without  school  opportunities. 

The  letter  was  from  his  wife,  and  General  Fisk  read 
it  through,  slowly,  aloud.  It  spoke  of  the  crops,  and 
the  harvest,  and  all  the  little  affairs  of  home — "  mention 
ing  even  Susy's  new  dress,  the  new  boots  for  Johnny, 
and  the  cunningest  wee  bits  of  socks  for  the  baby" — as 
the  general  later  said,  and  then  it  went  on  with  a  bit  of 
wholesome  reminder  like  this  : 

"  It  was  quarterly  meeting  last  Sunday,  John,  and 
the  presiding  elder  stopped  at  our  house.  He  told  me 
that  a  great  many  men  who  go  into  the  army  Christians 
come  back  very  wicked  ;  that  they  learn  to  swear,  and 
gamble,  and  drink.  Now,  John,  I  want  you  to  remem 
ber  the  promise  you  made,  as  you  were  leaving  me  and 
the  children,  that  you  would  be  a  good  man. ' ' 

And  as  the  general  read  on,  big  tears  began  to  run 
down  John's  cheeks,  until  finally  he  raised  the  sleeve  of 
his  blue  blouse  and  wiped  them  away,  and  out  of  a 
soldier's  heart,  and  in  the  soldier's  vernacular,  he  said  : 

"  Bully  for  her  !" 

"  "Well,  John,"  asked  the  general,  finally,  "  have  you 
been  the  good  man  you  promised  to  be  ?" 

Then  with  more  tears  came  a  sad  story  of  drunkenness, 
and  gambling,  and  sinful  speech,  until  the  general's  heart 
ached.  Disclosing  his  identity  at  last,  somewhat  to  the 


SOME   ARMY   INCIDENTS.  71 

man's  confusion,  General  Fisk  talked  with  him  as  a 
brother,  and  won  his  pledge  of  renewed  consecration  and 
a  better  life. 

John  Shearer  came  to  all  the  brigade  prayer-meetings 
after  that,  a  changed  man.  But  one  day  the  general 
missed  him,  and  sought  him  out.  The  swamps  and 
bottoms  bred  disease  and  begat  death  on  every  hand. 
The  Army  of  the  Mississippi  was  under  tribute  every 
hour  to  malaria,  fever,  and  the  grave.  Hundreds  of 
brave  men  in  General  Fisk's  own  command  closed  their 
eyes  wearily  and  sank  to  sleep — 

"  Waiting  the  dawn  of  the  judgment  day." 

Low  with  fever,  John  lay  in  a  hospital  tent  breathing 
his  last.  But  he  was  dying  in  the  faith.  And  after  re 
ceiving  his  final  messages  for  wife  and  children,  General 
Fisk  said  a  word  of  prayer  by  the  dying  man,  and  then 

sang : 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  His  breast  I  lean  my  head, 
And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there.'* 

So  one  of  the  homesick  went  home. 

Before  the  war  ended,  more  than  twenty-five  thousand 
Bibles  and  Testaments  were  given  out  to  soldiers  and 
sailors  from  the  headquarters  of  General  Fisk.  And  it 
was  at  Helena  that  a  pleasing  incident  occurred  in  Bible 
distribution. 

Advices  from  the  War  Department,  at  Washington, 
had  announced  a  new  edition  of  u  Casey's  Army  Tac 
tics,'  '  and  copies  were  looked  for  eagerly  at  the  front. 
While  still  expected,  General  Fisk  one  morning  received 
a  thousand  bright  New  Testaments  from  the  American 
Bible  Society.  They  were  unpacked  and  put  up  at 
headquarters  in  a  neat  case,  and,  with  their  gilt-lettered 


72  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

backs,  made  quite  a  show.  Within  an  hour  or  two  in 
came  Colonel  Samuel  Rice,  of  Iowa,  and  glancing 
casually  at  the  volumes  he  said  : 

"  So  the  Tactics  have  come  !     I  am  glad  of  it." 

"  Yes,  colonel,"  was  the  general's  answer,  "the 
Tactics  have  come." 

"  Can  I  make  my  requisition  for  them  this  morning  ?" 
Colonel  Rice  inquired,  still  giving  to  them  no  closer 
scrutiny. 

"  Certainly,"  he  was  told. 

"  Have  you  read  these  Tactics,  general  f  he  further 
asked. 

"  Yes,  colonel,"  was  the  prompt  answer;  "I  have 
studied  them,  and  I  mean  to  study  them  morning  and 
evening  till  mustered  out." 

Colonel  Rice's  requisition  for  "  forty-two  Casey's 
Tactics  "  came  soon  through  the  adjutant-general,  and 
General  Fisk  made  up  a  package  of  forty-two  New  Tes 
taments  and  sent  it  to  Colonel  Rice.  The  officers  gath 
ered  round  him  to  receive  each  a  copy,  and  watched  their 
colonel  while  he  opened  the  package  and  handed  out  the 
books. 

Astonishment  followed,  of  course.  It  was  not  the 
kind  of  joke  common  in  army  circles,  but  they  took  it 
kindly.  For  a  long  time  Colonel  Rice  had  been  think 
ing  soberly  on  religious  things.  He  began  now  to  study 
the  Tactics,  and  gave  himself  prayerfully  to  the  warfare 
therein  taught.  For  others  of  that  group,  also,  these 
Tactics  had  special  message  and  blessing. 

Always  while  at  the  front,  with  the  armies  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  the  Tennessee,  General  Fisk  felt  that  he 
must  care  as  well  for  the  souls  as  for  the  bodies  of  those 
under  him.  He  maintained  prayer-meetings,  and  regu 
lar  divine  service,  whenever  practicable,  and  was  equally 


SOME    ARMY    INCIDENTS.  73 

chaplain  and  commander  the  whole  time.  His  Christian 
Commission  antedated  the  military  commission  given 
him  by  Government. 

There  was  a  broader  Christian  Commission  than  his 
own.  It  grew  in  the  thought  of  Christian  men  like  him 
self,  and  its  work  among  the  soldiers  was  a  blessed  benef 
icence.  For  the  dying  it  did  much  ;  for  the  living 
vastly  more.  It  went  up  and  down  upon  the  battle 
fields  with  ministering  presence  ;  it  illumined  the  hos 
pitals  and  mellowed  stony  hearts.  It  was  the  divine 
inspiration  of  a  Christian  humanity. 

"  The  'majority  of  the  men  came  out  of  the  army 
better  than  they  went  in,"  afterward  testified  General 
Fisk,  "  and  all  owing  to  the  Christian  Commission." 

He  believed  in  it  from  the  first.  He  gave  it  every 
where  "  God-speed."  He  gave  it,  moreover,  the  largest 
material  aid  in  his  power  ;  and,  as  if  by  his  own  heart 
throbs,  he  gave  it  loving,  loyal  service  in  the  person  of 
his  wife.  Mrs.  Fisk  was  often  under  fire  while  doing 
Commission  work,  and  the  service  that  she  rendered 
showed  her  fitness  to  be  the  companion  of  such  a  man. 

General  Fisk  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  aid  in  the 
Christian  Commission's  organized  effort  to  be  and  to  do, 
and  stood  faithfully  its  friend  till  the  close. 

"  Thank  God,"  he  said  once  at  a  reunion,  long  after 
peace  came,  "  thank  God  that  it  ever  entered  into  the 
heart  of  George  II.  Stuart — God  bless  him  ! — to  hang 
the  banner  of  the  Cross  in  every  camp  on  the  Potomac, 
on  the  Cumberland,  on  the  Mississippi,  that  through  him 
the  throbbing  heart  of  the  Christian  Church  strengthened 
the  palsied  arm  of  the  Union." 

In  the  spirit  of  this  Christian  Commission  he  did  the 
military  duty  assigned  him,  wherever  and  whatever  it 
was.  But  he  was  common-sensible  about  it.  He 


74  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN   FISK. 

believed  religious  effort  should  bide  its  proper  time,  and 
he  had  sympathy  for  that  man  whose  arm  was  shot  off, 
and  to  whom  an  over-zealous  arid  not  very  practical  chap 
lain  said  : 

"  John,  do  you  love  Jesus  ?" 

"  You  take  your  handkerchief,"  said  John,  "  and 
tie  up  my  arm,  and  then  talk  to  me  about  my  soul." 

Physical  helps  are  often  the  very  best  preliminary  to 
spiritual  ;  indeed,  they  are  often  the  only  ones  that  will 
avail.  If  the  body  bleed  to  death  how  shall  the  soul  be 
saved  ? 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ADMINISTRATION    AMONG    GUERILLAS. 

BY  Special  Orders  No.  183  from  the  War  Department 
at  Washington,  dated  April  22d,  1863,  General  Fisk  was 
relieved  from  further  duty  in  the  Army  of  the  Tennes 
see,  and  commanded  to  report  at  once  to  General  Curtis 
in  St.  Louis.  Affairs  in  Missouri  were  unsettled  and 
anomalous  to  an  alarming  degree.  Two  State  govern 
ments  existed,  one  Union  and  the  other  Disunion. 
"  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle "  were  numerous. 
Bushwhackers  and  guerillas  abounded.  Life  and  prop 
erty  were  everywhere  unsafe.  The  State  was  as  if  on  a 
volcano  of  revolution  every  hour.  Wisdom  in  military 
administration  could  be  nowhere  more  essential.  So  the 
supreme  authorities,  recognizing  General  Fisk's  rare 
administrative  characteristics,  transferred  him  to  service 
calling  not  less  for  these  than  for  the  more  common 
qualities  of  a  military  commander. 

There  was  delay  in  transmission  of  the  War  Depart 
ment's  order,  and  it  did  not  reach  General  Fisk  till  June 
12th.  He  reported  to  General  Curtis  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  a  few  days  afterward  was  ordered  by  him  to  re 
lieve  General  J.  W.  Davidson  in  command  of  the  Dis 
trict  of  Southeast  Missouri,  with  headquarters  at  Pilot 
Knob. 

He  remained  commander  of  that  district  until  Novem 
ber  30th,  when,  by  order  of  Major-General  Schofield, 
now  commanding  the  Department  of  Missouri,  it  was 


76  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

consolidated  with,  and  made  part  of,  the  District  of  St. 
Louis,  and  General  Fisk  was  ordered  to  relieve  Colonel 
JR.  R.  Livingston  in  command  of  the  same. 

On  March  25th,  1864,  he  was  relieved  by  General 
Thomas  Ewing,  and  ordered  to  relieve  General  Guitar, 
of  the  State  Militia,  in  command  of  the  District  of  North 
Missouri.  This  was  his  most  important  command,  and 
was  longest  held,  covering  more  than  a  year.  His  head 
quarters  were  generally  at  St.  Joseph,  though  part  of  the 
time  afield.  While  thus  engaged  he  was  appointed 
Major  General  of  the  Missouri  Militia,  by  Governor 
Fletcher,  though  still  holding  United  States  commission 
as  Brigadier- General  in  command  of  Volunteer  Troops. 

Through  the  whole  period  of  nearly  two  years,  during 
which  General  Fisk  was  a  district  commander,  his  chief 
duties  were  of  the  bureau  order.  Detachments  under 
him  were  often  fighting  small  bands  of  the  enemy  in 
Southern  Missouri  and  Northern  Arkansas,  while  he  re 
mained  at  Pilot  Knob,  and  his  forces  there  captured  Jeff 
Thompson  and  broke  up  all  serious  inroads  upon  that 
territory  for  a  long  time  ;  but  later,  save  through  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1864,  or  a  part  of  both  summer  and 
fall,  he  was  the  administrator  of  peace  rather  than  the 
prosecutor  of  war. 

Northwestern  Missouri  was  a  very  hotbed  of  lawless 
ness  during  the  most  lawless  times.  In  it  border-rufiian- 
ism  had  long  been  rampant ;  marauders  seemed  more 
numerous  there  than  peaceful  citizens.  Before  the  war 
opened  its  counties  were  exceptional  for  wealth,  and 
their  fine  plantations  were  famous  for  beauty  and  fertility. 
As  soon  as  hostilities  began  the  worst  spirit  of  seces- 
sionism  seized  upon  many  of  the  people,  especially  the 
younger  men,  and  one  long  reign  of  disorder  was  in 
augurated  and  maintained.  To  stop  it,  and  to  restore  a 


ADMINISTRATION   AMONG   GUERILLAS.  77 

wholesome  social  and  political  condition,  General  Fisk 
was  sent  there. 

His  tact  at  managing  men,  his  peculiar  diplomatic  gifts 
as  a  peacemaker,  and  his  firmness,  often  unsuspected, 
under  a  gentle  exterior,  were  well  known  to  those  in 
power  above  him,  even  to  President  Lincoln  himself. 
In  the  long  Fremont  vs.  Blair  controversy,  which  so 
embittered  the  two  Unionist  factions  of  the  State,  Gen 
eral  Fisk  had  retained  the  regard  of  both  sides  and  the 
respect  of  ail,  and  had  written  the  President  about  it  in 
such  terms  as  to  call  forth  this  reply  from  his  own 
hand  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  October  25,  1863. 
GENERAL  CLINTON  B.  FISK. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  :  I  have  received  and  read  your 
letter  of  the  20th.  It  is  so  full  of  charity  and  good -will 
that  I  wish  I  had  time  to  more  than  thank  you  for  it. 

Cordially  yours, 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

It  was  believed  that  if  any  one  could  re-establish  peace 
and  prosperity  to  a  once  prosperous  region  General  Fisk 
might  and  would.  He  knew  Missouri,  and  much  of 
Missouri  knew  him.  He  could  be  both  suave  and 
severe. 

For  a  time  matters  grew  steadily  more  aggravating 
after  General  Fisk  took  command  at  St.  Joseph.  The 
fact  was  that  a  secret,  insidious,  and  very  far-sighted 
movement  had  been  begun  by  the  Confederate  author 
ities,  in  co-operation  with  General  Sterling  Price,  to 
overcome  the  dominant  loyal  power  in  Missouri,  to  revo 
lutionize  that  State  and  Kansas,  and  to  hold  both  in  hand 
at  the  next  election  in  November,  so  as,  in  conjunction 
with  disloyal  parties  at  the  North,  to  prevent  the  lega 


78  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEK   FISK. 

choice  of  a  President  and  perhaps  revolutionize  the  whole 
nation.  Something  of  this  plan  became  known  to  the 
Federal  authorities  as  early  as  the  sending  of  General 
Fisk  to  this  difficult  district,  and  an  invasion  of  Missouri 
by  Price  was  anticipated  if  the  whole  scheme  were  to  be 
carried  out. 

Indeed,  such  invasion  was  planned  as  the  climax  of  it 
and  to  determine  its  final  success.  Preliminary  thereto 
must  come  a  new  and  assertive  cohesion  of  the  rebellious 
elements  wherever  existing,  and  a  development  of  dis 
union  sentiment  which  would  justify  Confederate  author 
ities  in  furnishing  Price  the  invading  force  he  asked. 
Hence  there  were  spies  and  secret  agents  constantly 
operating  ;  the  secession  "  Order  of  American  Knights," 
or  "  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,"  grew  in  member 
ship  by  some  invisible  means  ;  and  through  this  oath- 
bound  organization  the  entire  disloyal  portion  of  North 
ern  Missouri  was  pledged  to  disorder,  bushwhacking,  and 
bloody  deeds.  Its  hidden  influences  were  felt  in  every 
walk  of  social,  political,  and  military  life.  Their  ulti 
mate  end  was  not  less  political  than  military,  and  socially 
they  had  frequent  manifestation  in  dark  and  mysterious 
ways.  Outrages  were  committed  that  now  would  make 
decency  blush  to  narrate.  Wrongs  were  common  that 
manhood  should  everywhere  have  condemned. 

Early  in  June,  Platte  County,  adjoining  Buchanan — of 
which  latter  St.  Joseph  was  the  business  centre — saw  a 
genuine  insurrection,  the  open  result  of  secret  endeavor 
many  weeks  put  forth.  From  that  time  on,  through 
much  of  the  summer,  General  Fisk's  entire  available 
force  was  kept  busy  scouring  the  brush  in  pursuit  of 
hostile  bands.  It  was  a  guerilla  warfare  of  the  most 
vicious  kind.  And  not  all  his  own  men  could  be  relied 
upon,  it  soon  appeared,  for  two  or  three  militia  regi- 


ADMINISTRATION-   AMONG    GUERILLAS.  79 

ments  developed  untrustworthiness.  Desertions  from 
them  grew  numerous,  and  indicated  systematic  action 
and  achievement  on  the  enemy's  part.  An  orderly- 
sergeant's  returns  would  often  run  like  this  :  "  37 
Company  G  absent ;  supposed  to  have  tuck  to  the 
brush."  Nothing  seemed  altogether  reliable  where  so 
much  was  demonstrated  uncertain,  where  sinister  hints 
were  heard  on  every  hand,  and  when,  as  gathering 
rumors  rendered  week  by  week  more  clear,  an  unknown 
power  was  making  ready  for  some  effective  and  startling 
manifestation. 

In  his  prompt,  yet  persuasive,  fashion,  General  Fisk 
sought  to  uncover  the  secret  resources  of  wrong,  as  well 
as  to  punish  its  active  agents,  within  his  jurisdiction. 
He  knew  of  the  prospective  invasion  by  Price  ;  he  was 
aware  of  the  purposes  involved  in  all  this  mysterious 
business  so  persistently  carried  on  ;  he  comprehended 
the  shrewd  political  intent  under  so  much  of  semi-military 
marauding  and  actual  violence  of  arms.  And  he  real 
ized  that  the  possible  climax  of  an  armed  invasion  could 
be  averted  only  by  finding  who  were  the  most  influential 
ambassadors  of  it  and  through  whom  their  mission  was 
being  wrought  out. 

It  grew  plain  that  certain  daring  young  men,  repre 
senting  the  best  families  in  certain  counties,  were  the 
direct  inspiration  of  this  widespread  mischief,  or  the 
efficient  tools  of  bold  mischief-brewers  outside,  and 
that  the  grip  of  a  strong  hand  upon  them  and  their 
fathers  would  conduce  to  the  general  good.  He  arrested 
several  at  once,  and  put  them  in  prison.  Immediate 
consternation  ensued.  One  leader,  not  knowing  how 
much  had  been  actually  revealed,  grew  frightened  and 
told  all  to  the  general  himself,  whose  happy  knack  of 
asking  questions  captured  him.  When  others  in  the 


80  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"    BOWEN   FISK. 

prison  heard  that  Coon  Thornton  had  peached,  their  grit 
failed  them,  and  they  were  ripe  for  swift  repentance  and 
good  works. 

From  Thornton  General  Fisk  obtained  the  names  of 
twenty-five  planters,  living  in  Platte  and  other  near-by 
counties,  who,  it  was  said,  could  stop  disorder  and  insure 
peace.  Some  of  them  the  general  knew.  All  were  men 
of  great  local  influence  and  of  eminent  respectability. 
A  few  were  not  suspected  of  disloyal  things.  To 
each  of  these  twenty-five  men  and  one  or  two  more 
known  Unionists  General  Fisk  wrote  a  personal  request 
for  an  interview  at  his  headquarters  on  a  set  day.  It 
was  not  like  a  notice  of  arrest,  but  it  was  mandatory. 
It  implied  the  necessity  of  compliance.  It  insured  the 
same. 

Every  man  came.  They  all  assembled  at  the  Patee 
House,  his  headquarters,  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
named.  Then  the  general  made  them  a  genial,  sunny, 
sensible  talk.  In  kindly  terms  he  put  before  them  the 
purpose  of  his  administration,  and  showed  them  how  he 
desired  the  best  welfare  of  all.  With  mild  firmness  he 
declared  that  what  could  be  must  be,  and  that  these  men 
could  and  must  bring  lawlessness,  marauding,  and  murder 
to  an  end  in  that  entire  region,  that  he  should  hold  them 
responsible  thereafter  for  any  continuance  of  the  bush 
whacking,  bulldozing,  and  bloodshed  so  long  preva 
lent. 

The  men  were  nonplussed.  They  admitted  them 
selves  rebels,  and  frankly  testified  to  the  good  Union 
character  of  those  additional  men  invited  merely  to  serve 
as  "a  blind."  They  as  frankly  stated  the  case  from 
their  standpoint,  and  rather  justified  their  conduct,  or 
sought  to  ;  but  they  accepted  the  situation,  and  gave  those 
guarantees  which  were  exacted.  Henceforth  they  would 


ADMINISTRATION"   AMONG    GUERILLAS.  81 

do  all  in  their  power  to  restore  quiet  and  enforce  law. 
And  they  kept  their  word. 

But  the  Price  invasion  was  not  averted.  So  much  ap 
peared  to  hinge  on  the  revolution  desired  by  Confederate 
leaders  in  Missouri  and  Kansas,  and  on  the  wresting  of 
these  States  from  radical  Union  control,  and  so  greatly 
had  the  real  rebel  sentiment  of  Missouri  and  the  develop 
ments  of  it  been  magnified — so  necessary  did  it  become, 
in  short,  for  the  South  to  achieve  some  great  diversion 
in  its  favor  before  and  at  the  Presidential  election  then 
impending,  that  Price's  plan  went  forward,  and  Missouri 
saw  an  anxious,  bloody  autumn. 

It  might  have  been  much  worse  but  for  the  wisdom 
in  administration  and  the  strategy  in  arms  of  General 
Fisk.  To  him  was  due  the  failure  of  Price  to  command 
large  numbers  of  recruits  to  his  standard  when  he  came, 
and  his  further  failure  to  capture  Missouri's  capital,  the 
objective  point  of  Price's  campaign.  With  the  capital 
lost  to  our  side  at  that  time,  after  results  might  have  been 
vastly  changed.  What  would  have  come  to  that  State 
and  Kansas,  who  can  tell  ?  And  with  these  both  smitten 
off  our  Union  column  in  the  fall  of  1864,  with  the  political 
unrest  that  was  increasing  day  by  day,  with  Fremont  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  and  winning  some  followers 
from  Lincoln,  with  the  Peace  Party  of  the  North  more 
and  more  assertive,  and  the  national  situation  more  and 
more  doubtful  to  human  eyes — with  all  this,  as  was  part 
of  it,  potentially  a  fact,  who  shall  calculate  what  might 
have  been  the  end  ? 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

PROTECTING    THE    CAPITAL. 

ON  September  24th,  1864,  General  Price's  army  en 
tered  Missouri  20,000  strong.  With  him  were  Mar- 
maduke  and  Shelby,  his  chosen  chiefs  for  the  splendid 
expedition  he  had  contemplated  so  long.  Their  forces 
were  flushed  with  hope  and  promise  of  successful  achieve 
ment.  Price  expected  20,000  State  recruits  to  join  him 
when  he  crossed  the  border  of  Arkansas  and  that  his 
onward  march  would  be  one  growing  momentum  of  vic 
tory.  And,  according  to  the  subsequent  report  of  Gen 
eral  Roseerans,  then  commanding  at  St.  Louis,  "  rebel 
agents,  amnesty  oath-takers,  recruits,  sympathizers,  and 
traitors  of  every  hue  and  stripe  had  warmed  into  life  at 
the  approach  of  the  great  invasion. "  But  these  do  not 
seem  to  have  accomplished  much  or  to  have  given  the 
help  or  encouragement  anticipated.  The  farther  north 
ward  and  westward  Price  went,  the  less  of  support  did 
he  receive  and  the  more  difficulties  did  he  meet. 

St.  Louis  was  threatened  and  Jefferson  City,  the  cap 
ital,  was  directly  aimed  at.  While  Rosecrans  made  all 
possible  haste  and  effort  to  protect  the  former,  he  ordered 
General  Fisk  to  Jefferson  City  with  all  his  available 
force,  and  all  possible  speed,  to  defend  the  capital  as  best 
he  could.  St.  Louis  was  in  a  greater  ferment  than  ever 
before  ;  and  all  Missouri  bubbled  with  military  and 
political  excitement  like  a  full  caldron  over  the  flames. 
The  hour  of  destiny  was  at  hand. 


PROTECTING  THE  CAPITAL.  83 

General  Fisk  reached  Jefferson  City  on  the  28th  and 
there  took  command  over  General  Brown.  He  had  but 
a  handful  of  men,  for  his  own  force  at  St.  Joseph  was 
originally  small,  and  had  been  depleted  by  militia  deser 
tions.  The  men  he  had  were  chiefly  militia  arid  raw 
recruits.  With  these  and  the  help  of  willing  towns 
people,  he  proceeded  to  throw  up  such  defences  as  would 
convey  an  impression  of  large  numbers  and  much 
strength.  Then  he  brigaded  his  2500  infantry  into  sev 
eral  brigades,  as  if  they  were  25,000,  and  issued  orders 
to  them  of  a  purely  fictitious  character,  which  were  pur 
posely  let  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands,  at  the  proper 
time,  through  an  avowed  deserter  who  bore  them. 

On  October  6th,  after  nine  days  of  active  preparation 
by  General  Fisk,  he  was  re-enforced  by  Generals  McNeill 
and  Sanborn,  with  their  cavalry  commands  of  about 
4000,  and  waited  Price's  appearance.  The  latter  had 
fought  with  Ewing,  at  Pilot  Knob,  who  made  a  gallant 
defence  and  then  retreated  to  St.  Louis,  but  had  swung 
round  that  city  and  was  moving  forward  upon  the  cap 
ital.  The  danger  of  its  capture  grew  hourly  more  im 
minent.  So  far  the  invasion  was  aggressive,  and  though 
Swing's  blow  against  it  had  been  severely  felt,  victory 
was  with  the  invaders. 

As  reported  later,  by  Rosecrans,  "  it  was  decided  by 
General  Fisk,  the  other  generals  concurring,  to  oppose  a 
moderate  resistance  to  the  enemy's  advance  across  the 
Moreau,  a  small  stream  with  muddy  banks  and  bad 
bottom,  four  or  five  miles  east  of  the  city,  and  then  to 
retire  and  receive  his  attack  at  the  defensive  line,  which 
with  industry  and  good  judgment  had  been  prepared  by 
the  entire  laboring  force,  civil  and  military,  at  Jefferson 
City." 

This  plan  was  efficiently  carried  out,     Price's  army 


84  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

crossed  the  Osage  and  burned  the  bridge  behind  it  the 
same  day  General  Fisk  was  re-enforced.  On  the  7th 
Price  moved  across  the  Moreau,  after  sharp  fighting 
there  with  the  Union  cavalry  force,  and,  as  his  resistance 
fell  back  within  the  defensive  line,  advanced  upon  the 
town.  He  was  surprised  to  find  an  enveloping  system 
of  earthworks,  which,  by  their  extent  and  apparent 
strength,  implied  a  large  garrison  and  ample  equipment. 
He  was  misled,  too,  by  the  fictitious  orders  that  had  been 
brought  to  him  from  General  Fisk.  Not  to  assail  the 
place  meant  abandonment  of  his  errand,  in  large  part, 
and  to  make  assault  might  mean  utter  destruction. 
Price  had  got  a  taste  of  fighting  earthworks  at  Pilot  Knob, 
and  was  not  eager  for  more.  These  were  formidable  be 
yond  all  previous  hint,  and  apparently  so  well  manned 
that  capture  was  out  of  the  question.  So,  after  develop 
ing  a  line  of  battle  three  or  four  miles  long,  east,  south, 
and  west  of  the  place,  and  after  making  a  careful  recon- 
noissance  that  did  not  en  courage  him,  Price  swung  round 
Jefferson  City,  as  he  had  swung  round  St.  Louis,  though 
nearer,  without  attacking,  and  after  massing  again  upon 
the  west,  as  if  still  unwilling  to  give  up  his  game,  he 
retired,  leaving  the  town  unharmed.  It  was  a  momen 
tous  victory  for  the  Union  side,  and,  so  far,  nearly  blood 
less. 

On  the  8th  Price's  movement  became  a  retreat  west 
ward,  with  the  Union  cavalry  force  of  McNeill  and  San- 
born  following  him.  A  retreat  it  continued  most  of  the 
ensuing  four  weeks,  and  the  range  of  it  traversed  pretty 
much  all  Western  Missouri.  On  the  25th  Pleasanton's 
cavalry  division,  provisionally  formed  for  the  pursuit, 
forced  Price  to  a  stand,  and  in  the  engagement  which 
followed  Generals  Marmaduke  and  Cabell,  five  colonels, 
and  over  1000  prisoners  were  taken,  and  what  remained 


PROTECTING   THE   CAPITAL.  85 

of  Price's  command  was  sent  flying,  shattered  and  de 
moralized,  into  Western  Arkansas.  The  great  invasion 
had  come  to  an  inglorious  end  ;  its  military  and  its 
political  purposes  were  in  no  degree  achieved. 

Concluding  his  report  of  it,  made  some  weeks  later, 
General  Rosecrans  spoke  warmly  of  the  work  Missouri 
troops  had  done,  and  said  they  had  "  blasted  all  the  polit 
ical  schemes  of  the  rebels  and  traitors  who  concerted 
with  Price  to  revolutionize  Missouri,  destroy  Kansas, 
and  turn  the  State  and  Presidential  elections  against  the 
cause."  He  added,  further,  that  their  service,  with  the 
Union  triumph  at  the  polls,  had  u  given  to  gallant  and 
suffering  Missouri  the  fairest  prospect  she  had  ever  yet 
seen  of  future  freedom,  peace,  and  prosperity."  And 
after  generally  thanking  all  the  soldiers  who  took  part, 
General  Rosecrans  especially  thanked  ' '  General  Fisk  for 
the  prompt  and  cheerful  discharge  of  very  trying  admin 
istrative  duties  and  for  his  energy  and  good  sense  in 
preparing  the  defence  of  Jefferson  City,  as  in  the  subse 
quent  repairs  of  Lamine  Bridge." 

This  latter  mention  refers  to  the  service  rendered  by 
General  Fisk's  infantry  after  the  cavalry  force  began 
pursuit  of  Price. 

Efficient  as  were  his  military  services,  thus  hastily 
sketched,  and  without  any  attempt  to  enlarge  upon  them, 
the  administrative  work  done  by  General  Fisk  subse 
quent  to  Price's  invasion  and  prior  to  the  election  in 
November  may  have  been  quite  as  effective  and  far- 
reaehing.  Missouri  gave  40,000  majority  for  Lincoln's 
re-election,  but  how  did  this  result  come  about  ?  Not 
altogether,  we  may  believe,  through  the  defeat  of  Price. 
Less  extensive  and  less  powerful,  perhaps,  than  he  had 
supposed,  there  were  yet  disloyal  agencies  in  the  State, 
and  their  efforts  could  be  insidiously  kept  up  ;  they 


86  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEST   FISK. 

might  even  make  a  secret  and  surprising  show  of  strength 
at  the  polls.  It  became  a  grave  question,  indeed,  who 
at  the  polls  were  to  have  rights  and  recognition,  and  to 
share  in  the  assertion  of  popular  power. 

General  Orders  No.  195,  Department  of  Missouri, 
had  said  :  "  The  general  commanding  expects  the  united 
assistance  of  true  men  of  all  parties  in  his  efforts  to 
secure  a  full  and  fair  opportunity  for  all  who  are  entitled 
to  vote  at  the  approaching  elections  in  the  State  of  Mis 
souri,  and  in  excluding  from  the  polls  those  who,  by 
alienage,  treason,  guerillaism,  and  other  crimes  or  dis 
abilities,  have  no  just  right  to  vote."  This  language 
would  seem  fairly  plain,  but  its  interpretation  was  open 
to  divers  opinions  ;  and  on  returning  to  his  headquarters 
at  St.  Joseph,  November  6th,  after  several  weeks  of  ser 
vice  at  and  around  Jefferson  City,  General  Fisk  found 
many  communications  waiting  him  from  leading  citi 
zens,  including  several  who  had  been  appointed  judges 
of  election,  seeking  more  specific  information  as  to  the 
qualifications  of  voters,  and  judges,  and  clerks  of  elec 
tion,  the  duties  of  judges  and  clerks,  the  right  of  mili 
tary  interference  at  the  polls,  etc.  In  reply  to  these  he 
issued,  on  the  following  day,  a  circular  addressed  "  To 
the  citizens  of  the  district,  and  especially  to  the  judges  of 
election."  It  condensed  the  various  interrogatories  to 
five,  and  gave  as  many  clear,  positive  answers. 

According  to  General  Fisk's  decisions,  which  carried 
with  them  the  final  determination  of  this  whole  matter 
within  the  bounds  of  his  authority,  none  but  legal  voters 
were  eligible  as  judges  and  clerks  of  election,  none  but 
loyal  men  were  legal  voters,  and  to  insure  these  full 
ballot  rights,  and  to  prohibit  the  disloyal  from  enjoying 
such,  military  interference  was  justifiable  and  would  be 
exercised.  He  further  declared  : 


PROTECTING   THE   CAPITAL.  87 

"  The  judges  of  election  are  the  authority  chosen  to 
decide  upon  the  qualifications  of  voters,  and  I  conceive 
that  the  commanding  general  had  this  fact  in  view  when 
he  forbid  the  appointment  of  the  specified  class  as  officers 
of  election,  to  the  end  that  there  should  be  no  treason 
able  sympathies  as  incentives  to  the  reception  of  illegal 
votes  to  the  ballot-box  ;  and  it  is  apparent  that  the  chief 
source  of  illegal  voting,  in  the  opinion  of  the  command 
ing  general,  was  likely  to  come  from  that  class  who,  by 
treason  and  complicity  of  treason,  had  destroyed  their 
right  to  the  privilege  of  the  elective  franchise." 

"In  my  opinion,"  said  General  Fisk,  "  all  persons 
who  in  August  and  September,  A.D.  1862,  voluntarily 
enrolled  themselves  as  disloyal,  or  as  sympathizers  with 
the  rebellion,  have  no  just  right  to  vote."  This  opinion 
he  based  on  the  fact  that  the  Convention  ordinance,  de 
fining  qualifications  of  voters,  had  been  adopted  on  June 
10th  previous  to  such  voluntary  disloyal  enrolment ; 
and  that,  according  to  the  provisions  of  said  ordinance, 
widely  published,  every  citizen,  before  voting  at  any  elec 
tion,  must  be  required  to  make  oath  that  he  would  bear 
"  true  faith,  loyalty,  and  allegiance  to  the  United  States, 
and  not  directly  or  indirectly  give  aid  and  comfort  or 
countenance  to  the  enemies  or  opposers  thereof." 

"  It  is  clearly  the  duty,"  General  Fisk  declared,  "  of 
judges  of  election  and  all  good  citizens  to  see  that  the 
purity  of  the  elective  franchise  is  preserved,  by  prohibit 
ing  that  class  of  persons ' ' — those  disloyally  enrolled  and 
rebelliously  engaged — "  from  touching  the  sacred  ark  of 
our  liberties  with  their  bloody  and  unsanctified  hands. 
Judges,"  he  said,  "  should  follow  their  convictions  of 
duty  to  an  honest  conscience,  to  the  country  and  their 
God.  They  are  only  answerable  to  the  civil  law  for  a 
corrupt  disregard  of  their  oath.  If  they  are  satisfied  in 


88  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

their  own  minds  that  £  known  rebels  and  sympathizers  ' 
have  given  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy,  it  is  clearly 
their  duty  as  honest  patriots  and  conscientious  judges  to 
reject  their  votes.  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  or 
O.  A.  K.  's,"  he  specifically  said,  "  should  not  only  be  pro 
hibited  from  voting,  but  should  be  lodged  in  the  nearest 
military  prison  for  trial  as  bushwhackers  ;"  and  he 
charged  upon  judges  the  duty  of  compelling  all  appli 
cants  at  the  polls,  who  might  be  suspected  of  membership 
therein,  to  meet  such  suspicion  under  solemn  oath. 

Concluding  this  important  administrative  document, 
General  Fisk  deliberately  announced  : 

"  The  judges  of  election  in  this  district  will  be  sus 
tained  by  all  the  power  confided  to  my  hands  in  the 
honest  and  fearless  discharge  of  their  duty.  Election 
should  be  free  from  all  violence  and  intimidation.  The 
purity  of  the  election  is  equally  essential.  Traitors  must 
be  repressed  ;  loyal  men  must  be  protected.  .  .  .  And 
few  but  traitors  will  complain  of  an  administration  of 
law  and  an  enforcement  of  orders  that  exclude  rebels 
from  the  privilege  of  the  elective  franchise." 

The  salutary  effect  of  the  above  utterances  was  so 
marked,  that  on  January  llth  ensuing  this  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Missouri  House  of 
Representatives  : 

11  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  loyal  people  of  this  State  are 
eminently  due,  and  are  hereby  tendered,  to  Brigadier-General  Clin 
ton  B.  Fisk,  commanding  the  District  of  North  Missouri,  for  the 
bold,  just,  and  manly  circular  issued  by  him  prior  to  the  late  elec 
tion,  in  reference  to  the  qualification  of  voters,  and  that  said  circular 
be  spread  upon  the  journal  of  this  House." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AN  ARMY  STORY  AND  THE  SEQUEL. 

So  faithful  had  been  General  Fisk's  devotion  to  his 
trusts,  as  a  military  officer,  that  when  called  upon  by 
Adjutant- General  Thomas,  with  others,  in  February, 

1864,  to  make  report  of  furloughs  and  the  like,  he  could 
say  : 

"  I  have  never  had  a  leave  of  absence  ;  have  never 
been  off  duty  an  hour." 

The  months  following  of  that  year,  as  has  been  seen, 
were  too  busy  for  him  to  change  this  praiseworthy  habit 
of  incessant  service.  When  came  January  of  1865,  and 
every  one  felt  that  the  Kebellion  drew  near  its  close,  he 
was  invited  on  to  Washington,  for  some  part  in  the  anni 
versary  of  the  Christian  Commission.  But  he  declined 
to  leave  his  post,  and  not  until  he  was  ordered  there  by 
the  Secretary  of  War  did  General  Fisk  respond  and 
seek  the  national  capital.  He  believed,  as  not  all 
officers  of  high  rank  did,  in  scrupulous  attention  to  duty, 
where  that  duty  lay,  and  had  no  wish  to  wait  about  Gov 
ernment  departments  courting  Executive  favor. 

It  was  a  memorable  occasion,  that  Christian  Commis 
sion's  anniversary-time,  the  last  Sunday  night  of  January, 

1865.  General  Fisk  himself  gave  a  charming  account 
of  it  fifteen   years  afterward,  when  the  first  Christian 
Commission  Reunion  took  place,  at  Chautauqua.     He 
said  : 

"  It  was  held  in  the  great  Congressional  Chamber  just  after  its 
completion.  It  had  been  made  ready  for  occupancy  but  a  few  days, 


90  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

and  therefore  we  helped  dedicate  it.  It  was  a  wonderful  assemblage 
of  people.  The  sacred  day  on  which  we  met,  the  cause  for  which 
we  convened,  and  the  remarkable  character  of  the  audience  made  it 
so.  Long  before  nightfall  the  avenues  of  Washington  leading 
toward  the  Capitol  were  crowded  with  a  multitude  of  people  intent 
upon  not  being  among  the  thousands  who  could  not  find  standing 
room  in  the  hall  an  hour  afterward.  And  when,  at  seven  o'clock,  the 
venerable  Secretary  of  State  took  a  chair,  the  scene  was  striking  and 
impressive  beyond  description.  The  President  and  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  a  majority  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives, 
distinguished  men  and  no  less  distinguished  women,  representatives 
of  the  highest  social  culture  of  the  country,  from  the  chief  centres  of 
the  Republic,  adorned  and  graced  the  occasion.  The  galleries  shone 
in  blue  and  gold,  with  the  uniform  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and 
navy.  The  soldier  with  his  fatigue  suit  was  chinked  in  all  around  to 
fill  up  ;  and  fringed  all  about  us  were  the  bright,  happy,  and  shining 
faces  of  the  freed  people.  It  was  a  mighty  crowd." 

And  after  going  on  to  describe  in  happy  detail  some 
of  the  great  men  composing  part  of  it,  General  Fisk 
resumed  : 

"  Along  toward  midnight  I  was  put  on  the  platform  to  weary  for  a 
little  time  this  great  throng.  I  saw  the  President  there  hobnobbing 
with  Mrs.  Fisk,  who  was  his  partner,  at  one  of  the  desks  of  the 
members.  The  speaker  preceding  me  had  told  us  what  an  easy  thing 
it  was  to  be  good.  I  knew  he  was  mistaken  about  it,  because  I  had 
tried  it.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  be  good  under  the  best  of  circum 
stances,  and  I  told  them  so  ;  that  it  might  be  easy  for  those  who  were 
at  home,  living  on  fat  contracts,  but  down  on  the  picket-line,  half- 
starving,  walking  our  beat  in  the  stormiest  night,  it  was  rather  a 
difficult  thing  sometimes  to  be  real  pious.  And  then  I  told  them  a 
story  about  a  soldier  of  mine." 

The  story  was  of  that  swearing  teamster,  narrated  on 
a  previous  page.  It  pleased  Mr.  Lincoln  very  much, 
and  he  laughed  over  it  in  hearty  fashion,  his  long  form 
swaying  back  and  forth  above  the  desk  before  him. 
The  whole  speech  of  General  Fisk  sparkled  with  pleasant 
allusion,  and  the  mellow  humor  so  characteristic  of  his 


Atf   ARMY    STORY    AND   THE    SEQUEL.  91 

platform  efforts,  while  it  was  also  tender  even  unto  tears. 
Late  as  was  the  hour,  and  much  as  the  crowded  audience 
had  heard,  they  all  sat  willing  listeners  till  the  end. 
The  Missouri  general,  as  some  designated  him,  had 
brought  the  grand  occasion  to  its  climax. 

Next  day,  or  evening,  there  was  a  similar  anniversary 
at'  Philadelphia,  which  General  Fisk  attended,  and  on 
his  return  to  Washington,  he  said  :  "  I  will  go  and  bid 
Mr.  Lincoln  good-by  before  I  go  back  to  my  com 
mand."  What  followed  can  be  told  best  in  the  general's 
own  words,  from  that  same  Chautauqua  speech  already 
cited  : 

"  I  went  to  the  White  House  on  Tuesday  morning  and  passed  into 
the  great  room  where  the  throng  met  on  those  days  who  wanted  to 
see  the  President,  and  there  sat  foreign  ministers,  and  senators,  and 
members  of  Congress,  and  contractors,  and  judges,  all  waiting  for  an 
audience.  No  one  could  get  in.  Mr.  O'Leary,  who  used  to  attend 
the  door,  and  get  some  of  you  in  for  ten  dollars  apiece,  came  out  and 
said  that  no  one  could  see  Mr.  Lincoln  that  morning.  Among  the 
disappointed  ones  I  saw  a  little  old  man,  and  I  had  met  him  there 
two  or  three  evenings  before,  trying  to  seek  an  audience  with  the 
President.  This  old  man  staggered  away  and  sat  down  on  the  win 
dow-sill,  the  very  picture  of  despair.  I  said,  '  You  seem  to  be  in 
great  sorrow  ;  what  is  the  matter  ?'  He  raised  his  eyes,  and 
said,  'Oh,  I  am  in  such  trouble,  sir.'  I  said,  'What  is  it?' 
and  he  said,  '  Look  at  that  package  of  papers  ;'  and  I  looked  at 
them  and  saw  they  were  worn,  torn,  and  greasy,  and  had  passed 
through  ever  so  many  headquarters,  and  were  covered  with  en 
dorsements  ;  and  I  found  that  when  the  war  broke  out  he  lived 
in  East  Tennessee  ;  that  he  had  two  boys,  sixteen  and  eighteen, 
and  that  they  both  went  into  the  Federal  army.  That  one  at  Straw 
berry  Plains  had  been  wounded  and  taken  to  the  hospital,  and 
his  younger  brother  detailed  to  nurse  him.  The  older  boy  died,  and 
the  younger  one,  homesick  and  lonesome,  had  deserted  and  gone 
home  to  see  his  mother  in  East  Tennessee.  It  was  at  the  time  when 
death  was  the  penalty  for  desertion,  and  no  one  could  mitigate  the 
sentence  except  the  President  ;  but  this  old  man  had  been  to  see 
that  greatest  of  soldiers,  who  never  made  a  mistake  or  lost  a  battle, 
General  George  H.  Thomas,  the  Commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 


92  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN   FISK. 

berland.  He  had  been  to  him  and  told  him  his  sorrowful  story,  and 
General  Thomas  had  written  a  letter  to  the  President,  begging  him 
to  interfere  and  save  the  boy.  And  he  said,  '  It  is  Tuesday,  and  my 
boy  is  going  to  be  shot  next  Friday.  What  shall  I  do  ?' 

"  It  was  one  of  those  sad  stories,  one  of  a  hundred  stories,  that 
had  made  my  heart  sore,  and  I  went  into  the  President's  private 
secretary's  room.  I  knew  him  very  well,  and  I  said,  '  John,  I  want 
to  see  the  President.'  And  he  said,  *  You  cannot  see  him.'  And  I 
said,  '  Why  ?'  And  he  said,  '  Let  me  tell  you,  but  don't  breathe  it 
in  Washington.  We  are  going  to  start  for  Annapolis  in  twenty  min 
utes.  The  engine  has  been  ordered.  Stevens,  Cameron,  and  Hunter 
are  waiting  for  us  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  we  are  going  to  have  peace  ; 
no  more  war.' 

"  I  said,  '  You  don't  say  so?'  Then  I  added,  *  Mr.  Lincoln  must 
not  go  down  there  until  he  has  seen  this  old  man.'  I  said,  '  I  will 
write  him  a  letter, '  and  I  wrote  a  letter  as  follows,  and  he  took  it  in  : 

"  *  MY  DEAR  PRESIDENT  :  There  is  an  old  man  out  here.  He  has  a 
sorrowful  story,  and  I  know  you  will  hear  it.  Will  you  hear  him  a 
moment  and  oblige  me  ?'  and  signed  my  name. 

"I  sent  it  in,  and  in  less  time  than  I  can  tell  it  there  came  a  mes 
sage  from  Lincoln  to  let  this  old  man  in,  and  he  turned  his  back  on 
plenipotentiaries,  and  senators,  and  judges  and  walked  into  the  pres 
ence  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  I  said  to  myself,  *  I  will  see  how  this  thing 
comes  out,'  and  I  pried  the  door  open  just  about  an  inch.  It  would 
have  been  curiosity  in  a  woman,  but  in  a  man  it  was  simply  a  spirit 
of  inquiry,  you  know. 

"There  stood  the  great  President,  pale  and  sad,  his  great  hand 
spread  out  on  the  table,  and  this  old  man  got  very  close  to  him 
before  he  saw  him,  and  he  said, 

"  '  Are  you  them  an  that  General  Fisk  sent  in  here  ?'  and  he  said, 
'  I  don't  know  who  sent  me,  some  one  did  ;'  and  the  President  said, 
'  Now  tell  me  the  story  very  quickly  ;'  and  he  told  him  the  story,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  took  the  paper,  and  said,  '  I  will  send  it  to  Judge  Holt, 
and  you  come  to-night  and  see  what  the  answer  is.' 

"And  then  the  old  man's  heart  sank  within  him,  and  he  threw 
himself  on  the  breast  of  the  President,  with  his  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
and  said,  '  My  God,  Mr.  President,  this  must  be  attended  to  now  ; 
my  boy  is  going  to  be  shot  next  Friday.' 

"  How  well  I  remember  the  wonderful  look  of  the  President — the 
wonderful  look  of  sadness  which  mellowed  away  at  once  into  such 
perfect  humor,  as  he  said,  '  That  reminds  me  of  General  Fisk's 


Atf   ARMY   STORY   AND   THE   SEQUEL.  93 

swearing  story  ;  let  me  tell  it  to  you.'  And  he  set  the  old  man  down 
there  by  the  table,  and  he  told  him  the  story  in  as  much  detail  as  I 
have  told  it  to  you,  making  him  laugh  as  heartily  as  possible,  taking 
three  times  as  long  to  tell  the  story  as  it  would  have  required  to  have 
read  the  papers  all  through,  and  then  he  took  an  old  quill  pen,  that 
I  would  give  a  hundred  dollars  for  this  minute,  and  wrote  across  that 
paper,  '  Let  this  boy  be  pardoned.  A.  LINCOLN.'  " 

Back  with  his  command,  and  having  no  solicitude 
about  promotion  or  other  honors,  at  a  time  when  loyal 
Missouri  would  gladly  have  accorded  him  every  recog 
nition  in  its  gift,  General  Fisk  was  appointed  Major- 
General  of  the  Missouri  Militia,  by  Governor  Fletcher 
(February  27th),  and  a  few  weeks  later  (May  13th)  was 
made  Brevet  Major- General  of  United  States  Yolunteers, 
by  Andrew  Johnson,  "  for  faithful  and  meritorious  ser 
vices  during  the  war.' '  But  prior  to  this  last  recognition 
he  had  resigned  as  Brigadier-General  of  the  United  States 
Army,  and  his  resignation  was  pending  at  the  "War  De 
partment  when  President  Lincoln's  assassination  occurred. 
Acceptance  of  it  was  declined,  and  on  May  18th,  1865,  by 
War  Department  Special  Orders  No.  238,  he  was  assigned 
to  duty  as  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the  Bureau  of  Eef- 
ugees,  Freedmen,  and  Abandoned  Lands,  for  the  States 
of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  was  relieved  by  Gen 
eral  Dodge  that  this  new  and  still  more  important  trust 
might  be  assumed. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

RECONSTRUCTING  SOCIETY. 

THE  Freedmen's  Bureau,  commonly  so  called,  was 
established  by  act  of  Congress  early  in  the  year  1865, 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  freedmen  and  refugees  in 
their  rights  and  returning  property  to  legitimate  owners. 
In  this  twofold  purpose  was  involved  the  complete  re 
adjustment  of  social  and  business  relations  at  the  South 
— the  restoration  of  society  to  its  new  and  better  con 
ditions. 

It  was  the  wish  of  President  Lincoln  that  General  Fisk 
should  become  the  Bureau's  permanent  head,  with  head 
quarters  at  Washington  and  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the 
regular  army,  but  the  general  would  not  consent.  War 
had  cost  him  all  the  financial  accumulations  and  all  the 
opportunities  open  to  his  hand  since  the  panic  of  '57. 
He  would  not  use  any  advantage  of  place  to  recoup  the 
loss,  while  he  had  spent  freely  of  his  Government  pay  in 
meeting  Government  needs.  He  felt  that  when  peace 
came  he  could  and  should  devote  himself  to  commercial 
profit-seeking.  Therefore  his  acceptance  of  a  place  as 
one  of  General  Howard's  assistants  was  but  temporary. 

Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were  assigned  to  him  at  the 
special  request  of  Andrew  Johnson,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  Presidential  chair. 

"  Fisk  ain't  a  fool,' '  he  said,  in  his  blunt  speech  ;  "he 
won't  hang  everybody." 

Which  remark  implied  that  some  army  officers  were 


RECONSTRUCTING   SOCIETY.  95 

not  wise,  and  that  Bureau  commissioners,  each  of  the 
eleven  being  an  officer  of  high  rank,  were  given  great 
authority.  The  latter,  no  doubt,  was  true.  As  Assistant 
Commissioner  of  Freedmen,  Refugees,  and  Abandoned 
Lands,  General  Fisk  had  almost  dictatorial  powers.  In 
him  rested  practical  title  to  half  the  lands  within  his  juris 
diction — which  soon  extended  to  Northern  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  and  part  of  Arkansas  as  well — and  to  a  vast 
deal  of  church  and  other  property  forsaken  by  or  wrested 
from  its  rightful  possessors  during  the  contest  now  closed. 
Upon  him  devolved  the  serious  task  of  setting  once  more 
in  motion  a  labor  system  become  utterly  demoralized  and 
chaotic,  wanting  intelligence  to  know  its  own  best  good, 
utterly  useless  without  direction  and  control,  lacking  all 
confidence  in  the  men  who  once  had  controlled  it,  and 
pitifully  expectant  of  great  things  as  the  immediate  re 
sult  of  freedom  and  citizenship.  There  has  never  been, 
and  there  can  never  be,  a  social  and  political  situation,  so 
extensive  as  this,  more  fraught  with  dangers  and  diffi 
culties  than  was  that  of  the  Southern  States  directly  fol 
lowing  Lee's  capitulation. 

General  Fisk's  headquarters  were  established  at  Nash 
ville,  and  continued  there,  but  he  spent  much  time  in 
personal  visitation  on  the  territory  he  commanded.  For 
he  was,  in  a  large  sense,  military  governor  of  those  two 
States  named  ;  he  was  a  commissioner  plus.  And  the 
plus  meant  much  toward  the  welfare  and  good  order  of 
both  white  and  black.  His  initial  endeavors  were 
directed  chiefly  to  the  re-establishment  of  kindly  feeling 
and  mutual  good  faith  between  the  ex-slave  and  the  ex- 
master. 

Everywhere  poverty  ruled.  Plantations  were  not 
worked.  Summer  drew  near,  and  the  crops  were  not  in, 
over  wide  areas  of  land  that  should  be  yielding  plethoric 


96  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

harvest  by  and  by.  Freed  industry  could  and  must  re 
habilitate  the  South,  but  freedmen  distrusted  their 
former  owners,  and  were  alike  indolent  and  afraid.  It 
was  vital  that  labor  be  at  once  inspired  with  confidence 
in  capital,  and  be  guaranteed  full  protection.  It  was 
imperative  that  such  labor,  amid  such  conditions,  should 
have  steady  employment,  and,  for  its  own  sake,  and  the 
sake  of  all,  should  be  put  promptly  afield. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  General  Fisk  was  to  gather 
large  assemblies  of  white  and  colored  people  in  the  open 
air,  and  there  address  them.  His  addresses  at  these,  as 
testified  by  gentlemen  who  often  heard  him,  were  won 
derfully  effective.  Writing  of  his  work  at  this  time,  in 
an  article  published  in  the  Ladies*  Repository  for  April, 
1866,  Major  Lawrence,  of  General  Fisk's  staff,  thus 
remarked  : 

"  He  is  very  happy  in  his  addresses  to  the  freedmen. 
It  is  really  refreshing  to  hear  them  exclaiming,  when  he 
goes  out  into  a  new  place,  where  the  gospel  of  freedom 
has  never  been  heard  except  as  it  has  been  thundered 
forth  by  loud-mouthed  cannon,  '  O  bress  God  !  Gineral 
Fisk  has  come  !  That's  him  !'  '  We'll  hear  de  truf 
now.'  *  He'll  tell  us  what  to  do. '  And  he  does  tell 
them,  and  while  he  speaks  in  his  kindly  way  they  devour 
every  word,  and  their  large,  liquid  eyes  are  never  for  a 
moment  removed  from  him.  I  have  seen  four  or  five 
thousand  of  these  '  wards  of  the  nation  '  crowded  around 
the  general's  stand  in  a  compact  mass  and  listening  to 
his  words,  and  a  more  interesting  and,  in  some  respects, 
affecting  spectacle,  I  have  never  witnessed." 

The  same  gentleman,  now  well  known  as  Judge  Law 
rence,  of  Nashville — where  he  has  been  in  legal  practice 
since  his  Bureau  association  with  General  Fisk — in  a  re 
cent  private  letter  recalls  one  great  meeting,  held  at 


RECONSTRUCTING    SOCIETY.  97 

Spring  Hill,  Tenn.,  in  a  beautiful  grove.  "  People  of 
both  colors  flocked  together, ' '  he  says,  '  ( to  hear  what 
the  head  of  the  Bureau  in  this  section  had  to  say.  The 
general,  on  reaching  Spring  Hill,  was  entertained  at  the 
home  of  a  wealthy  ex-rebel.  The  whole  question  of  the 
relation  of  the  races  was  discussed  with  such  fairness, 
solid  sense,  and  eloquence,  and  such  evident  sincerity,  as 
to  carry  his  entire  audience  with  him.  The  substance  of 
his  advice  to  the  former  master  was — c  Employ  your 
former  slaves,  treat  them  fairly,  and  pay  them  reason 
ably  for  their  work.'  To  the  freedmen  he  said  :  '  Be 
honest,  industrious,  and  faithful,  and  make  of  yourselves 
good  citizens. '  He  told  them  that  freedom  meant  more 
earnest  work  than  slavery  and  greater  responsibilities  ; 
not  idleness  and  vice.  Every  day  the  freedmen  who  had 
flocked  into  the  cities  were  urged  to  return  to  their  old 
homes  and  make  contracts  for  labor  or  rent  lands." 

One  of  those  immense  "  mixed  "  meetings,  to  which 
came  such  crowds  of  white  and  black,  was  near  Hunts- 
ville,  Ala.,  under  great  spreading  oaks,  where  had  gath 
ered  a  memorable  concourse.  It  numbered  thousands, 
of  all  shades,  and  ages,  and  kinds.  At  the  general's 
request  a  white-haired  and  patriarchal  planter  acted  as 
chairman,  and  was  invited  to  tell  first  what  his  race  and 
people  wanted  ;  and  then  an  aged  negro,  with  woolly 
white  hair  and  wrinkled  ebony  face,  was  singled  out  by 
General  Fisk's  quick  tact  and  nice  discrimination,  and 
bidden  speak  for  the  blacks.  He  was  a  genuine  Uncle 
Tom,  and  with  that  character's  native  dignity  and  simple 
pathos,  the  old  slave  said  : 

"  Massa  Gin'ral,  all  my  people  wants  is  jist  a  fa'r 
chance." 

Then  the  commissioner  talked  to  them  with  that  un 
matched  candor  and  in  that  homelike,  sunny-hearted 


98  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK. 

style  which  neither  black  nor  white  can  long  resist,  and 
ended  by  appointing  the  venerable  uncle  and  the  patri 
archal  chairman  a  committee  to  draw  up  some  basis  of 
agreement  which  both  sides  could  accept,  to  govern 
future  labor  relations.  They  did  their  work  together, 
amicably,  and  reported  to  the  multitude,  which  ratified 
it  with  hearty  demonstrations.  And  to  this  day  General 
Fisk  is  remembered  with  warm  appreciation  by  the  sur 
vivors  of  that  scene. 

Next  to,  or  simultaneously  with,  the  establishment  of 
goodfellowship  between  white  and  black,  came  the  res 
toration  of  property.  There  were  no  such  prejudices 
here  to  encounter  as  made  the  first  task  often  delicate, 
and  much  of  this  work  was  speedily,  easily  done  ;  but 
some  people  had  wild  notions  of  justice  and  equity,  and 
made  extravagant  calls  upon  the  commissioner  for  aid. 
His  duties,  it  may  be  said,  formed  a  perfect  university 
for  the  study  of  human  nature.  Writes  a  friend  familiar 
with  them  : 

"  General  Fisk,  as  you  know,  bubbled  over  with 
humor,  and  the  stirring  incidents  which  occurred  while 
he  was  here  would  enrich  a  volume.  He  could  put  him" 
self  en  rapport  with  the  humblest  and  the  wisest,  and 
while  courteous  to  all  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  work — the 
reconstruction  of  society  on  a  sound  and  healthy  basis." 

As  an  extreme  sample  of  one  type  with  which  General 
Fisk  had  to  deal,  we  may  mention  an  Alabama  woman, 
a  mountain  refugee,  who  came  into  headquarters  as  if 
they  would  contaminate  her,  and  fairly  demanded  her 
rights.  She  had,  as  she  informed  him,  "  ben  two  year 
in  Injianny,"  and  her  business  now  was  "  to  git  trans 
portation  back  to  Alabam\  We  uns  hearn  tell,"  she 
said,  "  that  you  uns  was  goin'  to  give  the  refugees  the 
farms  of  the  old  secesh,  and  we  uns  wants  7em."  The, 


RECONSTRUCTING   SOCIETY.  99 

general  told  her  no,  that  could  not  be  done  ;  and  as  he 
said  it,  and  while  her  disappointment  was  getting  ready 
to  voice  itself,  a  neatly- dressed  colored  woman  came  in, 
and  begged  a  hearing.  It  was  accorded  her  as  politely 
as  if  she  had  been  white  and  dressed  in  satin.  She  was 
neater  and  more  ladylike  than  the  Alabama  refugee. 
Her  story  was  infinitely  more  sad,  Her  daughter  had 
been  spirited  away  from  Nashville,  after  being  freed  by 
act  of  Congress,  and  sold  in  Georgia.  It  was  an  un 
usual  and  unusually  aggravating  case,  and  it  touched  the 
commissioner's  great  tender  heart  at  once.  Her  petition 
for  aid  to  bring  back  the  stolen  young  woman  was 
granted  as  soon  as  made,  and  the  petitioner  went  grate 
fully  away.  Then  this  Alabama  woman  grew  wrathy. 

"  Gineral  Fisk,"  she  asked,  her  sallow  face  yet  more 
unlovely  than  before,  "  be  you  a  abolitionist  ?" 

"  Yes,  madam,"  he  frankly  answered,  "  I  be" 

"  Wall,  now,  gineral,"  she  went  on,  "  you  don't 
believe  in  nigger  equality,  do  you  ?  I'm  sure  you  ain't 
so  bad  as  that?" 

The  general's  patience  did  not  fail  him,  but  his  sense 
of  justice  asserted  itself.  With  less  suavity  than  usual, 
he  replied  : 

"  Madam,  I  do  not  think  you  need  have  the  least 
uneasiness  in  the  world  on  the  question  of  equality,  for 
you  will  have  to  learn  a  great  deal  more  than  you  now 
know,  and  will  have  to  conduct  yourself  in  a  much  better 
manner,  before  you  become  the  equal  of  that  good 
colored  woman  who  just  left." 

And  with  a  sniff  of  her  snuffy  nose,  and  vigorously 
condemning  u  the  nigger  bureau, "this  lady  from  Ala 
bama  took  her  leave. 

A  very  fashionably-dressed  woman  came  to  him,  one 
day,  with  a  verbal  request  for  the  restoration  of  her 


100  LIFE  OF  CLINTON  BOWEN  FISK. 

property.  Her  haughty  airs  and  her  manifest  conscious 
ness  of  superiority — the  unladylike  manner  of  condescen 
sion  which  marked  her — rather  amused  General  Fisk, 
and  he  politely  requested  her  to  write  out  her  claim. 
She  confessed,  with  some  sudden  embarrassment,  that 
she  could  not  write  !  And  then,  a  fine  stroke  of  sarcasm 
under  it  all,  he  ordered  a  young  colored  man,  employed 
at  headquarters — a  private  soldier  of  the  Ninth  Heavy 
Artillery  detailed  for  office  duty — to  write  out  the  claim 
and  her  petition  concerning  it,  much  to  her  disgust. 

The  same  sense  of  humorous  appreciation,  tinged  with 
gentle  sarcasm,  perhaps,  led  General  Fisk  once,  when 
drafting  the  constitution  for  a  colored  benevolent  organ 
ization  which  applied  to  him  for  such  help,  to  declare 
that  its  object  was  ' '  to  provide  for  the  poor  without  any 
distinction  of  color. ' ' 

It  made  no  difference  to  the  general  if  the  humor  of  a 
situation  told  against  himself.  At  Edgefield  one  day, 
near  Nashville,  he  spoke  to  the  colored  people  in  a  new 
schoolhouse  just  built  to  replace  one  burned  down  by  the 
enemies  of  colored  education.  An  old  Baptist  preacher 
was  present,  past  fourscore,  and  became  overflowingly 
happy.  At  the  close  he  came  forward  and  grasped  the 
general's  hand,  and  said,  with  great  pride  : 

"  '  Gin'al,  you  is  a  Baptist,  I  knows  you  is  a  Baptist, 
for  no  man  can  talk  like  dat,  ^ccpt  he  been  washed  all 
over  in  de  Jordan.'  And,  becoming  confidential,  the 
old  man  whispered,  '  De  Methodists,  gin'al,  are  a  low  set. 
You  know  they  are.  They  came  from  Wesley,  and  he 
was  a  outcast,  and  you  may  look  de  Bible  clar  through 
and  not  find  Wesley  once  in  it,  but  you  find  Baptist,  John 
de  Baptist ;  and  all  de  Baptists  come  from  him  !  Yes, 
gin'al' — with  another  squeeze  of  the  hand — c  dese  Metho 
dists  are  a  low  set  /' 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


IT  was  through  the  uniform  kindness  and  wise  judg 
ment  of  General  Fisk,  exercised  in  the  recognition  of 
property  rights  and  the  righteous  adjustment  of  per 
sonal  wrongs,  that  he  so  won  the  confidence  of  those 
under  his  administration.  He  sought  always  to  temper 
justice  with  mercy  and  to  soften  hard  feelings  of  aliena 
tion  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Like  his  good  grandfather, 
Ephraim  Fisk,  of  New  England  memory,  his  mission 
was  that  of  a  peacemaker,  in  this  New  South  where  had 
grown  such  pathetic  need  of  peace.  And  well  and 
wisely  he  performed  it.  Writing  of  his  peculiar  service, 
a  resident  of  Nashville  lately  said  : 

"  Some  men  came  South  after  the  war,  or  remained 
here,  to  thrive  in  politics  and  to  use  the  recently  en 
franchised  people  to  further  their  ambitious  purposes. 
General  Fisk,  from  the  day  he  opened  his  headquarters 
here,  seemed  to  be  working  in  faith  and  hope  for  the 
glorious  results  which  the  people  in  this  section,  white 
and  colored,  are  now  enjoying.  He  had  faith  in  man, 
as  man,  and  he  certainly  contributed  greatly  to  the  good 
order,  peace,  and  thrift,  educational  and  religious,  of 
society  here. " 

When  General  Fisk  went  there,  religious  thrift  was  at 
the  discount  of  conditions  which  had  discounted  every 
thing.  Church  worship  in  many  cases  had  long  been  in 
terfered  with.  Valuable  church  properties  were  under 


102  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BO  WEN    FISK. 

alienation  from  societies  long  engaged,  before  war  smote 
them,  in  their  development  and  prosperous  use.  These, 
like  all  the  plantations  of  men  who  fought  against  the 
flag,  were  in  General  Fisk's  hands.  And  nothing  gave 
him  more  pleasure,  we  may  believe,  in  his  varied  acts  of 
humanity,  than  the  restoration  of  such  to  proper  owner 
ship. 

The  McKendree  Church  was  one  of  these.  In  the 
heart  of  Nashville,  it  had  known  wide  influence  as  the 
leading  Methodist  church  organization  of  that  whole 
region.  But  war's  changes  had  scattered  its  member 
ship  and  brought  to  unsanctified  uses  the  honored  edi 
fice.  On  a  beautiful  Sunday  of  early  summer,  that  year 
of  1865,  McKendree  Church  was  reoccupied  by  those 
who  loved  it.  In  gladness  and  gratitude  they  came  to 
their  own.  again.  Sad  and  sorrowful  times  had  been 
seen,  during  those  months  and  years  of  separation,  and 
wonderful  changes  had  occurred,  which  gave  a  tender 
pathos  to  the  day.  The  deepest  solemnity  marked  that 
service  of  rededication.  General  Fisk  attended  it,  with 
his  entire  staff,  in  full  uniform,  and  occupied  seats  at  the 
front.  Tears  of  a  hallowed  joy  flowed  down  hundreds 
of  cheeks  before  the  benediction  carne.  And  the  sym 
pathetic  words  of  General  Fisk,  spoken  in  his  abiding 
spirit  of  Christian  brotherhood,  were  not  least  eloquent 
and  thrilling. 

The  rights  of  the  freedman  before  the  law  became  at 
once  matter  of  grave  concern.  A  slave,  he  had  never 
been  allowed  to  testify  in  courts  of  justice  against  the 
whites.  Freed,  and  a  citizen,  the  State  laws  concerning 
him  were  in  this  respect  unchanged.  He  was  a  cipher  in 
his  own  defence,  as  all  those  years  gone  by.  General  Fisk 
saw  the  immediate  necessity  of  fixing  a  different  legal 
status  for  the  blacks,  and  organized  the  first  court  where- 


THE  FREEDMAN'S  FRIEND.  103 

in  a  negro  had  equal  rights  of  testimony  with  white  men. 
This  was  done  under  an  act  of  Congress  whereby  special 
courts  were  made  possible,  in  which  were  to  be  tried  all 
causes,  civil,  criminal,  and  equitable,  involving  the 
rights  of  colored  people.  These  courts,  established 
wherever  deemed  necessary,  were  the  occasion  of  some 
alarm  in  certain  quarters,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  at 
first  provoked  unfavorable  comment.  It  could  not  be 
otherwise.  "  The  old  order  changes,"  but  its  changes, 
though  swift  enough  when  God  ordains,  do  not  so  swiftly 
change  men.  Slavery  had  gone  forever,  but  its  old 
prejudices  remained.  White  superiority  could  not  at 
once  brook  the  claim  of  colored  equality  in  all  places. 
Inward  disgust  and  outward  demonstration  of  it  were  but 
natural.  The  marvel  is,  when  we  come  to  ponder  it  all 
over,  that  such  a  degree  of  considerate  acceptance  ob 
tained  among  the  master  race  with  regard  to  many 
things  at  feud  with  ancient  custom  and  established  social 
creeds. 

These  freedmen's  courts  were  absolutely  essential, 
under  the  new  dispensation  of  citizenship  and  the  old 
code  of  State  laws.  But  it  required  clear,  solid  judg 
ment  and  the  sternest  sense  of  justice  to  run  them 
fairly.  General  Fisk  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He 
not  only  saw  the  courts  promptly  organized,  but  he  saw 
them  jealously  maintained,  and  great  numbers  of  causes 
adjudicated  by  them  in  a  manner  which  gave  satisfaction 
to  all  classes.  But  while  these  courts  were  firmly  sup 
ported  and  their  judgments  and  decrees  enforced,  he 
was  using  all  his  influence  with  the  legislatures  to  induce 
them  to  enact  laws  giving  to  colored  men  the  right  to 
testify  in  all  the  courts  ;  and  he  constantly  assured  legis 
lative  assemblies  that  the  freedmen's  courts  would  be 
abolished  as  soon  as  such  laws  were  made.  He  kept  his 


104  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

promise  faithfully.  The  civil  rights  of  the  ex-slave  came 
into  fair  legal  recognition  sooner  than  our  country  had 
reasonable  ground  to  expect. 

Perhaps  the  first  book  ever  issued  for  the  practical 
behoof  of  colored  men  was  a  little  manual  compiled  by 
General  Fisk,  and  entitled  "  Rules  for  the  Government 
of  the  Freedmen's  Courts."  Certainly  the  first  volume 
ever  published  specially  for  colored  men  came  from  him, 
about  the  same  time — "  Plain  Counsels  for  Freedmen." 
This  latter  was  published  in  large  numbers,  by  the 
Boston  Tract  Society,  and  was  sold  cheaply  or  given 
away.  It  contained  about  eighty  pages,  and  was  greatly 
prized  by  those  for  whom  it  had  been  prepared.  A  book 
written  and  printed  for  them  had  rare  interest  and  pecul 
iar  merit  in  their  eyes.  They  regarded  it  with  great 
favor,  and  took  its  counsels  quickly  to  heart.  Its  very 
dedication  appealed  to  them  persuasively.  It  ran  : 

TO   THE 

FKEEDMEN  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Now  happily  released  from  the  house  of  bondage,  and  fairly  set  for 
ward  in  the  path  of  progress,  these  Plain  Counsels  are  respectfully 
and  affectionately  dedicated  by  one  who  has  marched  with  them 
through  the  Ked  Sea  of  strife,  sympathized  with  them  in  all  their 
sufferings,  labored  incessantly  for  their  well-being,  rejoiced  in  their 
prosperity,  and  who  believes  that,  guided  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  by 
day,  and  of  fire  by  night,  they  will  reach  the  Promised  Land. 

CLINTON  B.  FISK, 

Brevet  Major- General  United  States   Volunteers,  and  Assistant  Commis 
sioner  in  the  Freedmaris  Bureau. 
NASHVILLE,  TENN.,  March  1,  1866. 

Its  opening  words,  "  On  Freedom,"  were  simple 
and  to  the  point  : 

"  Every  man  is  born  into  the  world  with  the  right  to  his  own  life, 
to  personal  liberty,  and  to  inherit,  earn,  own,  and  hold  property. 
These  rights  are  given  to  him  by  the  great  God  ;  not  because  he  is  a 
white  man,  a  red  man,  or  a  black  man,  but  because  he  is  A  MAN." 


THE  FREEDMAN'S  FRIEND.  105 

What  followed  "  About  your  Old  Master"  was  in 
recognition  of  the  real  facts  : 

"  He  has  had  a  hard  time  of  it,  during  the  war,  as  well  as  your 
selves.  His  wealth  has  melted  away  like  wax  before  the  fire.  His 
near  relatives,  and  in  many  cases  his  sons,  have  died  on  the  field  of 
battle  or  have  been  crippled  for  life,  and  the  Government  will  grant 
no  pensions  in  their  cases,  because  they  fought  not  under  its  flag. 
.  .  .  You  must  think  of  these  things,  and  think  kindly  of  your  old 
master.  You  have  grown  up  with  him,  it  may  be,  on  the  same 
plantation.  Do  not  fall  out  now,  but  join  your  interests  if  you  can 
and  live  and  die  together." 

Speaking  "  About  White  Folks,"  General  Fisk  said  : 

"  White  people  have  old,  strong  prejudices,  and  you  should  avoid 
everything  you  can  which  will  inflame  those  prejudices.  You  know 
how  easy  it  is  to  hurt  a  sore  toe.  Prejudices  are  like  tender  toes. 
Do  not  step  on  them,  when  it  is  possible  to  avoid  it. 

"  White  men  are  very  much  influenced  by  a  man's  success  in  mak 
ing  a  good  living,  and  if  you  are  thrifty  and  get  on  well  in  the  world, 
they  cannot  help  respecting  you. " 

The  chapter  "  About  Yourself  "  had  several  para 
graphs  of  wise  advice  as  to  personal  habits,  as  well 
adapted  for  white  men  as  for  black.  One  of  them  de 
clared  : 

"  You  cannot  afford  to  drink  any  kind  of  spirituous  or  malt  liquors. 
To  say  nothing  of  their  bad  effects  on  your  health  and  morals,  you 
cannot,  in  justice  to  yourself,  pay  what  they  will  cost.  Three  glasses 
of  beer  a  day  would  be  thirty  cents— two  dollars  and  ten  cents  per 
week — nine  dollars  and  ten  cents  per  month — one  hundred  and  nine 
dollars  and  twenty  cents  per  year  !  But  if  you  drink  at  all,  you  will 
want  something  stronger  than  beer  and  more  costly,  and  you  will  waste 
your  time  at  drinking  saloons,  fall  into  bad  company,  and,  ten  chances 
to  one,  become  a  miserable,  bloated,  wheezing,  blear-eyed  drunkard. 
No,  you  cannot  afford  to  drink.  Do  not  go  into  a  liquor  saloon.  Let 
no  man  see  you  there.  Go  straight  by  without  turning  your  head. 
God  says  :  '  Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging,  and  whosoever 
is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise.'  '  Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is 
red,  when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright ; 
at  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like  an  adder. '  If  you 


106  LIFE   OF   CLINTOX    BOWEK   FISK. 

want  a  clear  head  and  a  strong  arm,  self-respect,  and  money  in  your 
pocket,  swear,  and  keep  the  oath,  that  yon  will  never  take  a  dram." 

Following  some  general  advice  "  To  Young  Men," 
was  this  : 

"  Avoid  the  company  of  bad  men  and  women.  Do  not  go  with  a  man 
who  does  not  care  for  the  virtue  of  a  woman.  Keep  away  from 
gamblers.  Never  be  found  in  the  company  of  a  woman  who  cares 
nothing  about  a  good  name.  Lewd  women  will  lead  you  down  quick 
into  hell." 

"  To  Young  Women"  brave  and  beneficent  words 
were  said  : 

"  There  is  no  being  on  earth  for  whom  I  have  a  higher  regard  than 
a  true  woman  ;  and  if  there  is  one  thing  I  desire  above  another  it  is 
that  the  freed-women  of  this  country,  so  long  degraded  and  made 
merchandise  of,  may  rise  to  the  dignity  and  glory  of  true  woman 
hood. 

"  Let  it  be  your  first  aim  to  make  of  yourself  a  true  woman.  Allow 
no  man,  under  any  pretence,  to  despoil  you  of  your  virtue.  The 
brand  of  shame  rests  upon  the  brow  of  the  unchaste  woman.  She  is 
hated,  even  by  those  who  are  as  bad  as  she  is.  No  man  can  ever 
love  her.  Her  parents  mourn  the  day  of  her  birth  ;  her  brothers 
hang  their  heads  in  very  shame  when  she  is  named,  and  her  sisters 
blush  to  own  her.  If  in  your  slave-life  you  have  been  careless  of 
your  morals,  now  that  you  are  free,  live  as  becomes  a  free  Christian 
woman.  Stamp  a  lie  upon  the  common  remark  that  colored  women 
are  all  bad. 

"  A  true,  honest,  wise  woman  is  the  best  work  of  God.  She  is 
man's  strength,  the  charm  of  the  household,  the  attraction  of  the 
social  circle,  the  light  of  the  Church,  and  the  brightest  jewel  in  the 
Saviour's  crown." 

How  needful  such  true,  strong  utterances,  at  that  time 
and  since,  all  know  who  have  had  close  observation  of  the 
class  addressed.  "  To  Married  Folks  "  these  counsels 
followed  : 

"  When  you  were  slaves  you  '  took  up  '  with  each  other,  and  were 
not  taught  what  a  bad  thing  it  was  to  break  God's  law  of  marriage. 
But  now  you  can  only  be  sorry  for  the  past,  and  begin  life  anew,  and 
on  a  pure  foundation. 


THE  FREEDMAN'S  FRIEND.  107 

"  You  who  have  been  and  are  now  living  together  as  husband  and 
wife,  and  have  had  children  born  to  you,  should  be  married  accord 
ing  to  law,  as  soon  as  possible.  This  will  give  you  the  civil  rights 
of  married  persons,  and  will  make  your  children  the  legal  heirs  to 
your  property." 

x  These  little  extracts  will  serve  to  show  how  faithful 
were  the  teachings  of  this  freedman's  friend,  and  how 
true  he  was  to  the  need  of  that  period  in  negro  experi 
ence.  There  were  pages  also  about  Work,  Free  Labor, 
Contracts,  Dishonesty,  Receipts  and  Expenditures, 
Homes,  Crime  and  Religion,  which  had  in  them  the 
worth  of  gold  ;  and  several  well-drawn  illustrations 
added  force  to  the  counsels  given  and  attractiveness  to 
the  book.  General  Fisk  knew  how  swiftly  the  negro's 
eyes  are  won  by  picture-prints  when  even  he  cannot 
read.  There  was  tact,  as  well  as  wisdom,  in  this  modest 
volume,  for  the  colored  people's  own  good.  It  gave 
them  a  new  consciousness  of  value.  A  man  in  whom 
they  trusted  and  believed  had  thought  them  worthy  to 
be  advised  in  a  real  book,  printed  for  them  alone.  They 
must  be  coming  up  in  the  world  !  And  were  they  not  ? 
Slowly,  to  be  sure— slowly  before  that,  slowly  then. 
For  them  the  printed  pages  were  beginning  to  multiply, 
and  the  school-rooms  opening  freely  here  and  there,  and 
the  teachers  giving  up  ease  and  social  caste  to  see  them 
taught.  But  it  was  only  as  the  flushing  dawn  of  a  better 
day.  The  twilight  of  ignorance,  and  of  educational  dep 
rivation,  was  not  yet  dissipating,  for  these  long  op 
pressed.  There  should  be  sunrise  by  and  by,  though, 
please  God  ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

AIDING    COLORED    EDUCATION. 

THE  sunrise  came  ! — came  through  the  prayers  of 
a  struggling  people  crying  out  after  light  and  knowledge  ; 
through  the  generous  gifts  of  devout  patriots,  who  saw 
that  these  millions,  freed  and  enfranchised,  must  be  edu 
cationally  and  religiously  cared  for  ;  through  the  sacrifice 
of  brave  souls  who  endured  more,  under  obloquy  and 
ostracism,  than  suffering  thousands  on  the  battlefields. 
Colored  need  and  helplessness  at  the  South,  when  free 
dom  was  made  a  fact,  stirred  the  great  sympathetic  heart 
of  the  North  as  even  slavery  had  never  done.  It  was 
profoundly  felt  that  by  intellectual  and  religious  culture 
alone  could  the  blacks  be  fitted  for  their  new  sphere, 
and  become  safe  constituent  elements  of  the  Republic. 
Before  emancipation,  indeed,  this  patriotic  and  Christian 
impulse  moved  to  benevolent  things.  It  opened  the 
original  school  for  freedmen,  at  Fortress  Monroe,  in  the 
fall  of  1861.  It  started  the  first  colored  school  at  Nash 
ville  in  October  of  1863.  It  had  duplicated  these  in  many 
other  places  before  1865. 

Chief  among  its  agencies,  as  afterward  testified  to,  in 
a  speech  at  Fisk  University,  by  General  Fisk,  "  and 
earliest  on  the  ground  with  educational  facilities,  was  the 
American  Missionary  Association,  which  for  almost  a 
third  of  a  century  has  been  in  the  front  rank  of  mission 
work,  especially  devoted  to  the  uplifting  of  the  lowliest 
of  the  earth  on  both  continents  and  on  the  sea.  Pa- 


AIDING    COLORED   EDUCATION.  109 

tiently  and  faithfully,  through  good  and  evil  report,  has 
this  association  marched  on  in  the  plain  path  of  duty, 
courting  no  antagonisms,  but  winning  the  favor  of  all 
classes,  lifting  up  the  lowly,  educating  the  poor,  and  sav 
ing  the  souls  of  men  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel  preached 
and  taught  by  their  faithful  ministers  and  teachers." 

With  all  his  old  intense  hunger  for  knowledge  fresh 
in  recollection,  and  inspiring  him  with  sympathy,  Gen 
eral  Fisk  craved  school  opportunities  for  these  grown-up 
children  in  his  charge.  From  the  outset  his  thoughtful 
attention  was  directed  to  the  matter  of  colored  education. 
More  and  more  he  saw  the  imperative  demand  for  it, 
and  realized  how  all  efforts  for  the  freedman  must  fail 
largely  of  success  which  did  not  include  educational 
means.  He  tried  to  interest  the  churches  along  this 
line,  but  organically  they  did  not  move  so  promptly  as 
could  be  wished.  There  were  individual  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  however,  who 
aided  him  much,  and  to  whom  he  has  paid  loving  tribute. 
In  that  same  address  above  referred  to  the  general  said  : 

"  Did  Christian  character  ever  shine  in  greater  completeness  before 
men  than  was  revealed  in  the  beautiful  and  blameless  life  of  Dr. 
A.  L.  P.  Green  ?  Did  ever  better  heart  throb  in  human  bosom  than 
that  which  grew  still  in  his  breast  ?  During  the  period  of  my  service 
here,  Dr.  Green  was  my  constant  adviser  and  wise  counsellor.  His 
intimate  knowledge  of  all  parties  in  the  South,  and  his  earnest  desire 
to  promote  peace  and  goodly  fellowship,  rendered  him  invaluable  to 
me  in  the  discharge  of  the  delicate  duties  to  which  I  had  been  called. 
Dr.  Green  was  the  first  man  in  the  nation  to  place  in  my  hands  any 
considerable  sum  of  money  for  the  education  of  the  freedman.  This 
noble  Southern  man  was  among  the  pioneers  in  this  good  work.  I 
can  hold  him  up  before  this  vast  throng  of  young  men  who  listen  to 
my  words  this  day  as  a  worthy  example.  Stand  to-day  with  your 
face  to  the  stars  and  say,  '  I  will  be  a  man  ;  a  Christian  man  in  all 
generosity  and  earnestness.  I  will  follow  the  pathway  which  shall 
make  me  loved  while  I  live,  and  which  will  make  me  honored  when 
I  fill  my  grave.'" 


110  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

The  dominant  spirit  in  which  General  Fisk  was  met 
by  Southern  men,  and  which  made  easier  than  they 
might  else  have  been  his  often  difficult  tasks,  was  thus 
recorded  by  himself  at  the  dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall : 

"  When,  in  1865,  the  rainbow  of  peace  spanned  the  country's 
horizon,  to  myself  was  assigned  the  duty,  in  this  and  adjoining  States, 
of  aiding,  to  the  extent  of  my  ability  as  an  officer  of  the  army,  in  the 
re-establishment  of  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  law,  in  the  restoration 
of  prostrate  industries,  and  of  doing  whatever  else  should  promote 
the  welfare  of  a  people  whose  fields,  in  many  sections,  had  then  no 
fresh  furrows  save  those  which  had  been  turned  by  the  red-hot 
ploughshare  of  war,  and  to  whom  had  come,  through  the  arbitrament 
of  the  sword,  a  revolution  upheaving  the  great  social  and  industrial 
system  which  had  grown  with  the  growth  and  strengthened  with  the 
strength  of  centuries.  In  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties 
assigned  to  me,  from  no  source  did  I  receive  more  cordial  and  help 
ful  aid  than  from  those  who  had  been  chief  spirits  in  the  great  con 
flict,  and  who,  with  sword  and  pen,  had  served  the  '  lost  cause  '  with 
all  possible  devotion  and  earnestness  ;  but  having  returned  to  the 
old  paths  they  with  equal  ardor  hammered  swords  into  ploughshares, 
and  thus  forgetting  the  things  which  were  behind,  the  great  aim  was 
to  follow  those  which  made  for  peace.  We  struck  hands  of  fellow 
ship  and  said  :  '  How  best  can  we,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  "  the  blue 
and  the  gray,"  uplift  the  prostrate  communities  ?  '  The  years  it  was 
permitted  me  to  serve  in  that  capacity  are  among  the  most  satisfac 
tory  of  my  life.  From  far  and  near  came  up  the  busy  hum  of  resur 
rected  industry.  Churches  and  college  buildings  were  restored  to 
their  original  purposes,  and  the  Christian  pastor  and  teacher,  the 
Scriptures  and  spelling-book,  resumed  the  places  from  which  they 
had  been  driven  by  the  stern  behests  of  war." 

The  Scriptures  and  the  spelling-book  ! — he  was  a 
believer  in  both.  Out  of  his  belief,  in  large  part,  grew 
the  institution  of  learning  that  has  been  referred  to, 
bearing  his  name.  It  had  small  beginnings,  but  around 
those  a  large  horizon  of  far-seeing  purpose. 

Fisk  School  for  Freedmen  was  opened  January  9th, 
1866,  in  some  Government  buildings  west  of  the  Chat 
tanooga  depot,  known  at  that  time  as  the  Railroad  Hos- 


AIDING    COLORED   EDUCATION.  Ill 

pital.  These  buildings  had  sheltered  the  Federal  soldiers, 
and  were  now,  at  General  Fisk's  wise  discretion,  trans 
formed  into  an  educational  centre  for  the  emancipated 
children  of  bondage.  In  August  of  the  year  previous 
the  American  Missionary  Association  had  sent  two  of  its 
officers  to  ' '  prospect ' '  for  a  school  in  Nashville.  These 
two  men  were  Eev.  E.  P.  Smith,  then  recent  Secretary 
of  the  Christian  Commission,  and  Rev.  E.  M.  Cravath, 
and  ex-army  chaplain,  who  had  entered  upon  service 
with  the  association  named.  And,  as  told  by  Mr.  Smith 
at  the  dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall,  they  searched  Nash 
ville  through  to  find  a  building  or  a  hall  which  could  be 
rented  for  school  uses. 

"  There  were  vacant  buildings,  but  none  for  a  colored  school.  We 
found  an  army  barrack  structure  belonging  to  the  Government  which 
could  be  made  to  insure  the  purpose  for  which  we  were  sent — the 
establishment  of  a  primary  school — but  it  stood  upon  private  ground, 
whose  owner,  though  in  need  of  money,  was  not,  as  he  said,  '  so  low 
down  '  as  to  sell  or  rent  property  for  that  kind  of  business.  At  last, 
in  our  search,  we  came  upon  the  group  of  hospital  buildings  near 
the  Chattanooga  depot.  The  ground  upon  which  they  stood  could 
be  purchased — if  it  was  only  known  for  what  purpose— for  $16,000, 
one  fourth  cash.  Professor  Ogden  joined  us,  and  together,  by  using 
all  we  had  and  borrrowing  all  we  could,  we  raised  the  cash  payment 
and  gave  our  paper  and  a  mortgage  for  the  balance,  and  the  infant 
Fisk,  though  not  yet  named,  had  a  cradle.' ' 

To  these  preliminary  efforts  General  Fisk  lent  all  pos 
sible  aid,  and  later  his  purse  and  credit  were  often  at  the 
school's  command  in  time  of  need.  It  took  his  name, 
in  fitting  recognition  of  the  labors  whereby  he  had  made 
its  establishment  possible,  and  of  the  practical  interest 
which  from  the  first  he  manifested  in  its  establishment 
and  growth.  For  grow  it  did.  The  individual  debt  in 
curred  to  start  it  was  discharged,  and  in  1869  the  Ameri 
can  Missionary  Association  became  full  possessors  of  it. 


LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

Meanwhile,  in  1867,  it  was  duly  chartered  as  Fisk  Uni 
versity. 

The  wildest  dreams  of  colored  education  did  not  at 
first,  perhaps,  include  the  university  idea.  That  was 
but  a  natural  development.  The  brightness  and  progress 
of  many  pupils  came  to  demand  instruction  of  a  higher 
grade.  The  adoption,  throughout  many  Southern  States, 
of  a  colored  common-school  system  spread  wide  the 
higher  educational  desire,  and  made  less  needful  the  low- 
grade  special  schools  for  freedmen  heretofore  supported 
by  Northern  contributions.  So  generosity  was  left  a 
chance  to  rear  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  and  to 
lift  the  blacks  to  a  yet  loftier  level  of  knowledge.  A 
boarding  hall  and  a  dormitory  were  essential  at  Nash 
ville,  and  these  were  provided.  Steadily  the  needs  of 
Fisk  University  were  met,  that  in  turn  it  might  meet  the 
crying  want  all  about  it.  But  year  by  year  its  needs 
grew  more  exigent,  until  1871. 

Then  the  old  buildings,  though  often  repaired,  could 
not,  it  was  clear  enough,  be  much  longer  saved  from 
decay.  A  new  set  of  edifices  must  be  erected,  and  for 
these  it  was  vital  that  a  new  site  be  had.  The  Ameri 
can  Missionary  Association  lacked  resources,  and  could 
do  nothing.  What  could  any  one  do  ?  Speaking  of 
this  emergency,  when  Jubilee  Hall  was  dedicated,  Gen 
eral  Fisk  said  : 

"  The  immediate  friends  and  promoters  of  this  institution,  though 
poor  in  worldly  goods  and  beset  with  discouragements  without  limit, 
were,  nevertheless,  rich  in  faith,  and  never  faltered  from  their  orig 
inal  purpose  to  build  here  a  college,  or,  at  least,  make  the  beginning, 
trusting  to  the  blessings  of  God  upon  those  who  might  come  after 
them  to  carry  forward  the  enterprise  to  complete  success.  Year  by 
year,  after  the  undertaking  of  ten  years  since,  grew  upon  us  the 
perplexing  problem  of  obtaining  the  means  to  purchase  a  new  site 
and  erect  the  permanent  initial  building  of  Fisk  University.  When 


AIDING   COLORED   EDUCATION.  113 

through  decay  of  the  old  buildings  and  the  urgent  demands  for 
increased  facilities  the  necessity  for  a  solution  of  the  problem 
became  imperative,  there  was  found  one  man  equal  to  the  emer 
gency." 

That  one  man,  "  a  most  faithful  staff-officer  in  my 
own  military  family,"  as  General  Fisk  speaks  of  him, 
was  George  L.  White.  "What  he  did,  and  how  he  did 
it,  and  what  came  of  the  doing,  form  a  wonderful  chap 
ter  in  the  record  of  earnest  effort  for  God  and  humanity 
which  men  and  women  have  made — the  story  of  the 
Fisk  Jubilee  Singers.  They  have  borne  General  Fisk's 
name  across  two  continents  and  over  many  lands.  Their 
story  belongs  right  here,  and  shall  be  told  partly  in  the 
language  of  General  Fisk  himself. 


CHAPTER  XYII1. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  SINGERS. 

JUBILEE  HALL,  the  "  initial  permanent  building  of 
Fisk  University,"  to  which  reference  has  been  had,  was 
dedicated  January  1st,  1876.  A  great  throng  of  white 
and  colored  people  crowded  into  it,  and  made  the  occa 
sion  memorable.  General  Fisk  presided  as  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  gave  one  of  his  winsome 
addresses,  which  has  been  liberally  quoted  from  already 
in  these  pages,  and  may  be  yet  further  appropriated. 
After  his  handsome  recognition  of  Mr.  George  L.  White, 
the  D resident  said  : 

"  '  There's  music  ever  in  the  kindly  soul  ; 
For  every  deed  of  goodness  done  is  like 
A  chord  set  in  the  heart,  and  joy  doth  strike 
Upon  it  oft  as  memory  doth  unroll 
The  immortal  page  whereon  good  deeds  are  writ.' 

"  There  was  music  in  the  soul  of  our  Brother  White.  He  gathered 
around  him  the  children  of  the  freedmen,  and  with  them 

"  '  Sung  the  old  song.' 

He  conceived  the  idea  of  coining  the  slave  melodies  of  the  old  plan 
tation  and  the  camp-meeting  into  gold  and  silver,  wherewith  to  pur 
chase  this  commanding  site,  and  upon  it  erect  Jubilee  Hall.  George 
L.  White  was  eminently  a  man  of  faith,  and  when  he  went  before 
God  on  his  knees  and  asked  His  blessing  upon  his  efforts,  he  believed 
that  God  was  going  to  help  him.  His  was  the  prophetic  soul.  He 
saw  the 

'  Glorious  coming  years, 
This  prophet  eaw  them  far  upon  the  way  ; 
With  timbrel  and  with  song, 
Before  the  doubting  throng, 
He  bore  the  standard  of  the  coming  day.1" 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   SINGERS.  115 

"  How  well  do  I  remember  when  this  good  brother  wrote  me  at  my 
home  in  St.  Louis,  and  asked  me  to  loan  him  $300  to  take  his  singers 
north  of  the  Ohio  River.  I  wrote  an  answer  and  told  him  not  to 
think  of  such  a  thing  ;  that  he  would  bring  disgrace  upon  us  all,  and 
told  him  to  stay  at  home  and  do  his  work.  He  wrote  back  that  he 
trusted  in  God  and  not  in  General  Fisk.  [Laughter.  ]  Next  we  see  him 
marching  onward  with  his  little  band.  Reaching  the  city  of  Cincinnati 
destitute,  he  went  down  to  our  old  friend  Halstead,  of  the  Commercial, 
and  said  to  him,  4  You  are  a  friend  of  General  Fisk  ;  I  have  some 
students  of  his  who  are  going  to  sing  Sunday  morning  at  such  a 
church.  I  have  no  money  to  pay  for  the  advertisement,  so  will  you 
please  say  in  your  paper  that  they  are  here  ? '  This  was  on  Friday 
and  they  were  to  sing  on  Sunday.  Judge  of  Mr.  White's  surprise  to 
see  announced  in  Saturday  morning's  paper  that  General  Fisk's  negro 
minstrels  from  Tennessee  [laughter]  were  in  the  city,  and  would 
sing  in  such  a  church  the  next  morning  at  10.30  o'clock,  and  advising 
everybody  to  go.  Everybody  did  go,  as  it  was  something  really 
wonderful  to  witness  a  negro  minstrel  performance  in  a  church  on 
Sunday.  [Laughter.]  It  was  a  grand  triumph  for  the  negro  min 
strels  ;  it  was  the  foundation  of  their  success. 

"  The  story  of  the  Jubilee  Singers  fills  a  volume.  The  little  poorly 
clad  company  of  emancipated  slaves  who,  four  years  ago,  left  Nash 
ville  on  their  mission  of  song,  have,  since  that  day,  written  their 
names  indelibly  on  the  hearts  of  millions  in  our  own  country  and 
Great  Britain.  They  went  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed  ; 
they  came  again  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 

"  We  should  fail  in  the  discharge  of  our  grateful  duty  on  this  occa 
sion  did  we  not  speak  of  the  faithful  and  persevering  labors  of  Rev. 
G.  D.  Pike,  who,  as  business  manager  for  the  Jubilee  Singers,  made 
their  great  achievements  possible  by  his  unremitting  toil  in  properly 
presenting  them  before  the  public.. 

"  In  America  they  conquered  social  prejudices,  and  by  their  mod 
est,  Christian  demeanor,  which  they  have  so  happily  retained,  com 
manded  the  respect  and  generous  patronage  of  the  best  and  highest 
in  the  land.  Beyond  the  sea  they  have  twice  received  hearty  wel 
come  and  God-speed  from  the  noblest  and  best  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland.  We  this  day  record  with  a  becoming  spirit  of  gratitude 
our  obligations  to  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  whose  great  heart  throbs 
generously  for  all  humanity  and  its  every  good  cause,  for  royal  wel 
comes  to  England  by  his  lordship  extended  ;  to  her  Majesty,  Britain's 
most  noble  Queen,  and  the  royal  family,  for  their  kindly  benediction 
upon  the  Singers  ;  to  her  Prime  Minister,  Mr.  Gladstone,  to  Hon. 


116  IJFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

John  Bright,  to  llev.  Newman  Hall,  Spurgeon,  Parker,  and  Dr.  Allon, 
and  to  hosts  of  others  in  the  United  Kingdom,  who  have  smoothed 
the  pathway  of  the  Jubilee  Singers,  and  caused  their  treasury  to 
ring  with  the  clink  of  British  gold,  therein  cast  for  the  furtherance 
of  our  cause.  We  can  express  for  them  all  no  better  wish  than  that, 
in  the  great  day  of  final  rewards,  they  and  we  may  be  gathered  into 
the  common  citizenship  of  that  better  and  heavenly  country,  where 

"  '  Unfailing  palms  we'll  bear  aloft, 

Unfailing  songs  we'll  sing  ; 

Unceasing  jubilee  we'll  keep, 

In  presence  of  our  King.'  " 

The  actual  sum  earned  by  the  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers, 
and  the  way  in  which  their  work  and  the  work  of  the 
university  was  regarded  by  the  noblest  class  of  Southern 
men,  found  statement  in  the  speech  of  Rev.  John  B. 
McFerrin,  D.D.,  as  follows  : 

"  There's  not  recorded  such  an  instance  in  history  that  a  few  men 
and  women,  like  the  Jubilee  Singers,  have,  within  the  space  of  a  very 
Hew  years,  raised  $100,000  for  the  education  of  their  race.  But  the 
beautiful  point  in  it  is  this,  that  I  had  some  hand  in  that.  Now,  you 
ask  me, '  How  do  you  account  for  that  ?'  and  I  tell  you  that  it  is  owing 
entirely  to  camp-meeting  songs.  I  helped  to  teach  the  colored  people 
the  camp-meeting  songs  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  Jubilee  Hall. 
I  have  heard  those  songs  sung  during  my  ministry  of  fifty  years.  I 
thank  God  that,  after  delivering  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  discourses 
to  colored  people,  I  have  lingered  around  to  hear  these  beautiful 
songs,  which  were  sung  until  the  break  of  day.  If  the  teachers  here 
will  teach  them  to  send  up  songs  and  shouts  of  praise  to  Jesus, 
I  simply  say  AMEN.  I  want  you,  General  Fisk,  and  all  others,  to 
understand  that  the  Southern  people,  as  far  as  my  information  ex 
tends — that  is,  the  intelligent,  patriotic,  and  Christian  people  of  the 
South,  with,  perhaps,  a  few  exceptions — rejoice  in  the  education  and 
elevation  of  the  colored  people,  and  fully  appreciate  the  grand  work 
you  are  doing  for  them.  [Loud  applause.]  I  stand  on  my  native 
soil  and  bear  this  testimony.  It  meets  the  hearty  co-operation  and 
sincere  approbation  of  all  Christian  people." 

How  and  whence  came  the  pathetic  sweetness  of  those 
Jubilee  songs,  that  have  so  moved  the  high  and  the 
lowly  on  both  hemispheres,  and  what  are  represented  in 


THE    STORY   OF   THE    SIHGERS.  117 

the  edifice  their  service  reared,  were  briefly  stated  by 
the  Eev.  Gr.  D.  Pike  : 

"  We  are  about  to  dedicate  a  building  unmatched,  in  its  origin,  in 
the  annals  of  the  world  ;  for  this  magnificent  edifice  expresses  more 
than  the  renowned  and  praiseworthy  efforts  of  the  Jubilee  Singers — 
more  than  the  tact  and  skill  of  every  one  who  has  given  thought  and 
labor  for  its  construction,  because  it  was  only  made  possible  by  ex 
periences  earlier  than  emancipation.  The  price  thereof  came  from 
stricken  souls  who,  in  times  of  grievous  sorrow,  burst  forth 

"  '  O  Lord,  O  my  good  Lord,  keep  me  from  sinking  down.' 

1 '  It  was  built  with  the  coin  of  those  who,  in  their  seas  of  trouble, 
breathed  in  whispered  accents  : 

"  '  Steal  away,  steal  away,  steal  away  to  Jesus.' 

"  And  it  shall  ever  stand  a  monument  to  those  who,  glorified  with 
hope,  blazing  heavenward,  midst  trials  and  afflictions,  exultingly 
sang, 

"  '  Didn't  my  Lord  deliver  Daniel, 

'liver  Daniel,  and  why  not  every  man  ? ' 

"  l  Oh  !  stand  the  storm,  it  won't  be  long, 
We'll  anchor  by  and  by.' 

"This  building  represents  history  and  ideas.  It  stands  on  the 
boundary  line  betwixt  two  civilizations.  On  these  grounds  a  fort 
was  once  erected  for  defence,  but  this  edifice  is  more  than  a  fort,  it 
is  a  lighthouse  ;  yea,  it  is  more  than  that,  it  is  a  university,  in  which 
may  be  taught  the  principles  that  will  shape  the  destiny  of  nations. 
What  we  say  here  will  not  largely  add  to  what  has  been  done.  We 
can  do  little  indeed  to  consecrate,  for  God  baptized  this  enterprise 
long  ago.  It  is  rather  for  us,  while  we  stand  here,  to  dedicate  our 
selves  to  the  unfinished  task  of  placing  the  civilization  this  building 
represents  beyond  peradventure.  It  is  for  us  to  take  on  new  devo 
tion  with  every  triumph  won  for  exact  justice  and  a  reign  of  elevated 
industries  and  Christian  intelligence.  It  is  for  us  here  to  resolve 
that,  God  helping  us,  our  nation  shall  be  redeemed  and  made  typical 
for  many  nations  yet  unborn." 

On  the  evening  of  this  very  happy  New  Year's  day 
for  Fisk  University,  a  supper  was  served  in  the  large 
dining  hall  to  over  three  hundred  invited  guests,  where 
General  Fisk  presided  again,  with  his  never-failing 


118  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

geniality,  and  where  the  story  of  the  Jiibilees  was  still 
further  told  in  the  following  poem  by  Professor  A.  K. 
Spence  : 

"  Songs  from  the  sunny  South  land, 

Songs  from  over  the  sea, 
Songs  from  the  house  of  bondage, 

Songs  of  the  glad  and  free, 
They  sang,  those  children  of  sorrow, 

Those  children  of  dusky  hue  ; 
Strange  and  wild  were  their  accents, 

But  their  hearts  were  warm  and  true. 

' '  Echoes  from  unknown  ages, 

From  Afric's  distant  strand, 
Down  through  the  generations, 

To  wake  in  a  captive  land, 
They  brought  like  the  summer  breezes 

Blown  from  a  land  of  flowers, 
Like  the  voice  of  whispering  angels 

From  a  fairer  land  than  ours. 

* '  They  caught  the  sweet  inspiration 

When  lulled  on  their  mothers'  breast, 
As  at  evening  they  sang  of  heaven, 

Where  the  weary  are  at  rest ; 
And  they  saw  sweet  angels  coming 

To  carry  them  away, 
And  the  chariot  swinging  lower 

Through  the  gates  of  opening  day. 

' '  Sometimes  their  songs  were  wailings 

Of  the  anguish -smitten  soul 
In  the  land  of  dark  perdition, 

Where  fiery  billows  roll, 
And  their  strains  grew  wild  and  wilder, 

As  before  their  eyes  entranced 
Things  that  no  tongue  may  utter 

In  fearful  visions  danced. 

"  And  men  in  rapture  listened, 

And  strong  men  wept  to  see 

These  children  of  the  bondmen, 

These  children  of  the  free, 


THE   STORY   OF  THE   SINGERS.  119 

And  they  opened  up  their  coffers, 
And  they  poured  their  treasure  forth 

From  the  ocean  to  the  river, 
From  the  South  land  to  the  North. 

"  And  afar  o'er  the  restless  billow, 

Where  castles  are  gray  and  old, 
And  many  a  bard  of  sweetness 

Has  sung  to  a  harp  of  gold, 
Entranced  by  the  song  they  listened 

To  these  children  of  the  sun, 
And  many  a  tear-drop  glistened, 

And  many  a  heart  was  won. 

"  And  prayers  and  benedictions 

"Were  theirs  from  many  a  breast  ; 
They  sang  so  sweet  and  mildly, 

So  sad,  as  when  oppressed  ; 
And  they  stood  among  the  great  men 

In  the  palaces  of  earth— 
They  from  the  house  of  bondage, 

They  of  servile  birth. 

"  And  aloud  they  sang  in  triumph, 

They  sang  of  the  Jubilee, 
When  broken  is  every  fetter, 

And  the  sons  of  men  go  free  ; 
In  the  age  of  peace  so  golden, 

That  the  prophets  have  seen  so  plain, 
When  men  shall  be  friends  and  brothers, 

And  Christ  Himself  shall  reign. 

"  O  Africa,  land  of  shadow, 

O  Africa,  land  of  song, 
Land  of  long  night's  oppression, 

Land  of  sorrow  and  wrong, 
Thy  echoes  return  unto  thee, 

Bearing  on  golden  wing 
The  tidings  of  earth's  salvation, 

The  song  that  the  angels  sing." 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 

FISK    UNIVERSITY. 

BECAUSE  of  the  deep  interest  that  will  always  attach 
to  Fisk  University,  on  account  of  its  noble  purpose  and 
the  marvellous  effort  of  song  to  win  for  it  world-wide 
sympathy,  and  because  the  later  half  of  General  Fisk's 
life  is  so  closely  linked  therewith  as  to  be  inseparable 
therefrom,  some  further  words  about  it  may  be  admissi 
ble  here. 

Its  location  is  fortunate — one  mile  northwest  of  Nash 
ville,  and  overlooking  that  Southern  "  city  of  schools." 
It  stands  on  a  sloping  plateau,  from  whence  unobstructed 
views  may  be  had  in  all  directions.  The  prospects  com 
manded  by  it  are  everywhere  pleasing.  In  war  times 
Fort  Gillem  occupied  the  same  site — named  after  Gen 
eral  Gillem,  of  Modoc  fame,  who  lived  near  Nashville 
subsequent  to  his  Modoc  campaign,  and  died  there. 
The  fort  was  well  equipped,  but  never  saw  fighting. 
When  its  ramparts  were  at  length  levelled,  to  receive  a 
building  earned  by  the  songs  of  f reedmen,  no  memory 
of  blood  or  of  battle  stained  the  spot. 

It  is  in  a  neighborhood  becoming  classic.  Another 
institution  of  high  culture  for  the  colored  race  lies  on 
beyond — Roger  Williams  University,  of  Baptist  main 
tenance  ;  and  near  both  is  the  magnificently  endowed 
Yanderbilt  University,  for  whites,  with  its  great  and 
fine  structures  marking  a  new  epoch  in  Southern  educa 
tional  progress.  And  scattered  around  these,  or  across 


FISK   UNIVERSITY.  121 

the  space  between  them  and  the  city's  denser  population, 
are  hundreds  of  neat  homes,  built  since  war  grew  to  be 
a  memory,  of  a  class  which  renders  Nashville  conspicu 
ous  for  modest  yet  elegant  home-life. 

Jubilee  Hall  occupies  one  end  of  the  plateau,  Living 
stone  Hall  the  other,  and  future  edifices  will  extend 
along  the  space  between.  The  main  angle  of  the  main 
building  points  almost  directly  to  the  capitol,  while  the 
city  of  Nashville,  sloping  on  all  sides  from  that  central 
edifice,  is  in  more  or  less  distinct  view  from  both  of  the 
principal  fronts  of  Jubilee  Hall.  The  city  view  from 
the  hall  is  fine,  but  the  distant  as  well  as  near  scenery  on 
the  other  sides  is  even  more  pleasant.  Indeed,  there  is 
no  window  in  Jubilee  Hall  that  does  not  command  an 
exceedingly  beautiful  outlook,  and  the  whole  campus,  of 
twenty-five  acres,  is  admirably  adapted  for  outlook,  for 
drainage,  for  airiness  and  cheer. 

Ground  was  broken  for  Jubilee  Hall  January  1st, 
18Y3,  and  its  corner-stone  was  laid  October  1st  of  the 
same  year.  It  is  large,  English  in  style,  and  of  massive 
proportions.  Architecturally  it  is  an  L,  with  an  east 
front  of  145  feet  and  a  south  front  of  128  feet.  Includ 
ing  basement  and  cellar,  it  is  six  stories  high,  and  has  all 
the  conveniences  of  water,  steam,  and  gas  for  its  120 
rooms.  Its  ultimate  use  will  be  as  the  ladies'  hall  of 
Fisk  University,  but  as  yet  it  does  dormitory  and  chapel 
duty  as  well,  besides  furnishing  an  office,  assembly  room, 
recitation  rooms,  reception  rooms,  library,  kitchens, 
laundry,  and  dining  hall,  each  of  ample  dimensions. 

Its  dormitory  department  deserves  especial  mention. 
There  are  forty  rooms,  each  arranged  for  two  students, 
with  separate  and  complete  appointments  for  both. 
Every  room  has  two  closets.  The  furniture  is  made  of 
solid  black  walnut.  Forty  of  the  sets  were  obtained  by 


LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEtf   FISK. 

Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  and  forty  others  were  given  by 
friends  in  Great  Britain.  Each  bed  has  a  straw  mattress 
and  a  heavy  cotton  pad  upon  it.  The  three  upper  stories 
are  foe-similes  one  of  the  other.  All  are  divided  into 
bedchambers  and  all  furnished  exactly  alike.  Each  floor 
has  bath  rooms,  with  hot  and  cold  water,  water-closets 
and  wash-closets.  Three  tanks  in  the  attic,  holding 
thirty  barrels  each,  supply  the  entire  water  convenience, 
and  they  are  in  turn  supplied  from  five  cisterns  in  the 
cellar,  holding  25,000  barrels  of  water. 

The  large  chapel  is  bright  and  inviting,  with  a  broad 
platform  whereon  the  Jubilee  Singers  have  often  made 
plaintive  music,  and  where  the  Mozart  Society  now  dis 
courses  in  a  more  ambitious  musical  way.  The  attend 
ance  always  crowds  the  capacity  and  accommodations, 
and  is  characterized  by  an  air  of  earnestness  and  prayer 
ful  purpose  which  impresses  every  visitor.  Founded  in 
prayer,  built  with  the  proceeds  of  great  faith,  maintained 
for  the  elevation  of  a  race  more  universally  religious  than 
any  other  on  earth,  Jubilee  Hall  breathes  ever  an  atmos 
phere  of  devout  and  aspiring  trust.  The  real  dedication 
of  it  began  a  day  earlier  than  New  Year's  of  1876. 
Students  and  teachers  held  a  watch-night  service  in  it 
as  1875  went  out.  It  is  an  immemorial  custom  of  the 
colored  people  thus  to  observe  the  last  night  of  every 
year.  Of  that  meeting  a  teacher  wrote  : 

"  The  special  burden  of  prayer  seemed  to  be  that  God,  who  had  so 
surely  been  with  the  school  in  the  old  home,  might  take  possession 
of  this,  might  so  fill  it  with  His  presence  that  it  should  be  as  the 
temple  of  old,  when  the  glory  of  the  Lord  descended  and  abode  upon 
it  and  in  it ;  that  it  might  be  the  birthplace  of  souls  for  many  gener 
ations  to  come.  A  student  prayed,  '  O  Lord,  Thou  knowest  we 
hated  to  leave  the  old  home,  which  was  so  dear  and  so  sacred  to  us, 
and  we  do  not  want  to  stay  in  this  spacious  building  unless  Thou  art 
here. '  Mention  was  made  of  Moses,  when  he  pleaded  with  God,  '  If 


FISK   UNIVERSITY.  123 

thy  presence  go  not  with  us,  carry  us  not  up  hence/  and  very  sweetly 
came  to  our  hearts  the  promise  given  to  God's  servant,  '  My  presence 
shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest.'  Just  at  twelve  o'clock, 
when  1875  was  numbered  with  the  past  and  the  untried  new  year 
was  opening  upon  us,  we  all  knelt  in  silent  prayer,  that  God  would 
hide  us  beneath  His  wing,  safely  sheltering  us  during  all  the  passing 
years,  whether  they  brought  to  us  trial  and  sorrow  or  joy  and  rejoic 
ing,  in  the  great  work  that  He  has  given  us  to  do." 

A  like  spirit  of  prayer  and  praise  possessed  the  heart 
of  General  Fisk  when  he  opened  the  formal  exercises  of 
dedication,  and,  after  inviting  all  to  sing 

"Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow," 

delivered  his  address.  His  first  words  breathed  it,  and 
those  which  immediately  followed  were  permeated  by 
ardent  Christian  patriotism.  He  said  : 

"With  devout  thankfulness  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  ;  with  songs 
of  praise  on  our  lips  and  the  spirit  of  consecration  in  our  hearts, 
we  would  this  day  gather  in  Jubilee  Hall  to  dedicate  it  to  the  good 
cause  of  Christian  culture.  It  is  a  glad  day  for  all  ;  for  those  who 
have  planned  and  labored  through  much  discouragement— who  have 
prayed  and  watched  through  the  darkness  and  the  sunshine  for  the 
coming  of  this  hour.  It  is  a  day  of  joy  for  those  in  whose  behalf 
this  good  work  has  been  accomplished.  We  hail  you  with  a  '  Happy 
New  Year.' 

"  We  listen  to  the  silent  footfalls  of  the  Old  Year,  which  has  just 
passed  out  into  eternity  laden  with  its  joys  and  sorrows.  We  step 
over  the  threshold  of  a  glad  new  year,  and  hail  each  other  and  all 
with  hearty  greetings  and  best  wishes  and  prayers  that  '  your  lives 
may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.' 
And  was  there  ever  land  more  beautiful  ?  Was  there  ever  a  more 
goodly  heritage  than  yours,  ye  men  and  women  of  Tennessee  ?  Did 
lines  ever  fall  to  any  people  in  more  pleasant  places  than  in  this 
grand  old  commonwealth  ?  From  its  magnificent  rivers  to  its  boun 
dary  lines  it  is  fitly  described,  as  was  Canaan  of  old,  by  the  mouth  of 
the  deliverer,  lawgiver,  and  prophet,  as  '  a  good  land,  a  land  of 
brooks  of  water,  of  fountains  and  depths,  that  spring  out  of  valleys 
and  hills  ;  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley  ;  a  land  wherein  thou  shalt 
eat  bread  without  scarceness,  thou  shalt  not  lack  anything  in  it ;  a 


124  LIFE   OF  CLINTON  BOWEK   FISK. 

land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig 
brass.' 

"  At  the  capital  of  the  State,  near  to  the  dust  of  the  iron  man  who 
sleeps  at  the  hermitage — here,  within  the  encircling  arms  of  the 
majestic  river  which  flows  at  our  feet,  where  Nashville  sits  as  Queen 
of  the  Cumberland — Jubilee  Hall  this  day  throws  its  doors  wide 
open,  and  bids  you  enter  in  and  seek  wisdom  in  her  pleasant  ways 
and  peaceful  paths.  How  could  we  better  do  our  part  in  the  usher 
ing  in  of  1876  ?  How  better  celebrate  the  centennial  year  of  the 
nation's  birth  than  by  the  recognition  of  our  grateful  duty  to  our 
God  and  country  ?  How  magnificent  the  outgrowth  of  the  century 
of  our  national  existence  !  Time  will  not  permit  us  to  tell  you  ; 
every  schoolboy  knows  it.  We  will  not  here  undertake  to  portray  the 
marvellous  development  of  this  great  country.  One  hundred  years 
ago  the  Atlantic  coast  was  fringed  with  sparsely  populated  commu 
nities.  To-day  how  magnificent  the  growth  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from 
the  silvery  lakes  of  the  North  to  the  Southern  gulf  ! 

"  One  hundred  years  ago  this  morning  Washington  was  at  Cam 
bridge,  planning  his  attack  upon  Boston  ;  Lee  was  in  Connecticut, 
marching  on  New  York.  General  Greene,  in  a  New  Year's  communi 
cation  to  his  friend  Ward,  a  delegate  in  the  General  Congress  from 
Rhode  Island,  said  :  '  The  interests  of  mankind  hang  upon  that  body 
of  which  you  are  a  member.  You  stand  a  representative  not  of 
America  only,  but  of  the  friends  of  liberty  and  the  supporters  of  the 
rights  of  human  nature  in  the  whole  world.  Permit  me,  from  the 
sincerity  of  my  heart,  ready  at  all  times  to  bleed  in  my  country's 
cause,  to  recommend  a  declaration  of  independence,  and  call  upon 
the  whole  world,  and  the  great  God  who  governs  it,  to  witness  the 
necessity,  propriety,  and  rectitude  thereof.  America  must  raise  an 
empire  of  permanent  duration,  supported  upon  the  grand  pillars  of 
truth,  freedom,  and  religion.'  " 

And  after  adding  much  in  similar  spirit  of  apprecia 
tion  and  faith — a  part  of  which  has  previously  been 
quoted — General  Fisk  concluded  his  address  with  this 
wise  advice  and  apostolic  injunction  : 

"  '  Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing,  therefore  get  wisdom.' 
"  But,  above  all  else,  may  they  who  herein  enter  be  made  '  wise 
unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus, '  who  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophet  hath  said,  '  Wisdom  and  knowledge  shall  be 
the  stability  of  thy  times,  and  strength  of  salvation.' 


FISK  UNIVERSITY.  125 

*'  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  behold  the  outstretching,  whitening  har 
vest,  which  invites  you  who  will  go  forth  from  this  institution  with 
the  Divine  benediction  upon  you  to  teach  and  preach  among  the 
millions  of  our  land  who  stretch  out  their  hands  appealing  for 
knowledge,  and  the  unnumbered  millions  more  who,  from  the  heart 
of  Africa,  are  inviting  the  means  of  religious  renovation  of  that  mys 
terious  land  from  which— thanks  be  to  God— the  pall  of  barbarism  is 
being  lifted.  Let  it  be  the  aim  of  Fisk  University  to  fashion  those 
who  shall  be  sufficient  for  these  things.  And  upon  all,  the  teachers 
and  the  taught,  and  upon  our  friends  everywhere,  may  there  this 
day  come,  and  forever  upon  them  remain,  the  blessing  of  the  Father 
who  hath  loved  us,  the  Son  who  hath  died  for  us,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  which  quickeneth  and  sanctifieth.  Amen." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

AS    A    RAILROAD    FINANCIER. 

GENERAL  FISK  remained  with  and  was  a  large  part  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau  till  August  18th,  1866,  when  he 
was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  military  service, 
to  take  effect  September  1st  ensuing.  He  had  then  de 
voted  over  four  years  to  this  Government's  needs,  with 
a  single  and  unswerving  purpose  to  help  insure  national 
peace  on  a  sure  basis,  and  the  fruits  of  peace  to  all  whom 
war  involved.  For  the  welfare  of  both  races  in  the 
South  he  had  labored  with  patient  energy  more  than 
fifteen  months,  spending  freely  of  heart  and  brain  that 
high  and  humble  might  have  every  right.  It  had  been 
a  service  of  patriotic  love.  He  never  regretted  a  day  of 
it.  In  a  certain  and  holy  sense  it  had  been  the  Master's 
work,  and  done  as  for  Him.  Its  droll  experiences  had 
been  many,  its  glimpses  of  the  grotesque  frequent  ;  its 
tearful  pathos  often  lent  a  touch  of  soberness  to  daily 
cares,  and  offered  sharp  contrast  with  the  humor  so 
abundant. 

He  had  seen  great  and  essential  changes  in  the  legal 
status  of  black  men.  He  had  made  it  possible  and  com 
mon  for  such  men  to  claim  and  secure  recognition  in  the 
courts.  He  had  compiled  for  them  a  code  of  laws,  and 
had  seen  the  same  in  general  operation.  He  had  wit 
nessed  the  adoption  of  land  and  labor  contracts,  under 
which  colored  laborers  had  become  self-supporting  and 
were  able  to  command  homes  of  their  own.  He  had  re- 


AS   A   RAILROAD   FINANCIER.  127 

stored  vast  aggregations  of  property  to  hands  that  by 
right  should  hold  it.  He  had  given  healthy  and  hopeful 
impetus  to  industries  that  meant  real  prosperity  by  and 
by.  He  had  been  one  of  God's  instruments  in  the  pro 
viding  of  educational  resources  for  the  oppressed,  and  in 
the  safe  assimilation  into  the  body  politic  of  a  new  citi 
zenship  previously  unfitted  for  the  sphere  assigned,  and 
of  doubtful,  even  of  dangerous  possibilities,  without 
such  fitness  and  faithful  attention  as  now  could  be  con 
ferred. 

So  much,  indeed,  had  been  accomplished,  or  set  in 
motion  for  accomplishment,  that  he  saw  an  open  door 
out  of  duties  onerous  while  not  lucrative,  and  felt  at 
liberty  to  leave  them  for  larger  personal  opportunities. 
Yet  he  forsook  the  Bureau  with  real  sadness.  Its  field 
of  useful  effort  had  grown  dear  to  him.  The  freedman 
had  become  his  grateful  friend,  as  he  long  had  been  the 
friend  of  freedmen.  He  half  regretted,  at  times,  that 
he  was  not  to  remain  permanently  in  service  for  them 
and  for  the  Southern  whites,  whose  confidence  he  had 
won.  He  has  ever  since  regarded  that  service  as  the 
most  satisfying  of  all  his  life  and  productive  of  the  most 
good,  and  has  held  a  warm  place  in  his  heart  for  those 
men,  representing  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of  cap 
ital,  who  petitioned  President  Johnson  to  detain  him  at 
his  post  of  duty  in  Tennessee  till- reconstruction  efforts 
were  no  longer  needed. 

Returning  to  St.  Louis,  to  which  place  and  whose  peo 
ple  he  had  become  deeply  attached,  General  Fisk  cast 
about  for  some  opening  wherein  he  could  retrieve  the 
losses  occasioned  through  his  patriotic  course.  The 
domain  of  politics  was  before  him,  but  not  alluring. 
With  superlative  politic  insight,  peculiar  powers  of  tact, 
and  a  native  genius  for  managing  men  carefully  devel- 


128  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN   FISK. 

oped  by  wide  experience,  ho  might  have  entered  on  a 
political  career  of  exceptional  popularity,  and  used  its 
advantages  to  his  own  great  material  gain.  But  he 
would  not.  His  tastes  ran  along  other  lines.  He  knew, 
too,  how  much  the  politician  must  sacrifice  of  fine  moral 
fibre  and  of  devoted  Christian  effort  if  he  win  and  keep 
a  front  place.  He  loved  his  church,  his  manhood,  and 
his  God  better  than  the  gains  of  a  doubtful  success  or 
the  applause  of  men. 

He  did  accept  an  appointment,  tendered  him  by  Gov 
ernor  Fletcher,  as  State  Commissioner  of  the  Southwest 
Pacific  Railroad.  Its  functions  were  purely  administra 
tive  and  non-political.  It  gave  him  no  party  grip  ;  he 
wanted  none.  It  opened,  however,  some  broad  busi 
ness  possibilities.  Railroading  then  in  the  West  was  ex 
perimental  and  uncertain.  Oftener  than  otherwise  it 
proved  unprofitable.  The  through  trunk  lines  were 
barely  projected,  save  one.  The  States  were  eager  for 
railroad  development,  but  not  in  condition  to  aid  it  save 
by  the  grant  of  lands.  And  immigration  had  not  yet  set 
in  with  such  a  flood-tide  westward  as  was  later  seen. 

The  old  Missouri  Pacific  organization  had  been  helped 
by  the  State,  under  certain  stipulations,  to  build  branches 
and  part  of  its  line.  A  land  grant  of  1,000,000  acres 
had  been  conferred  upon  it,  on  terms  which  the  company 
did  not  meet.  Trouble  followed,  and  in  1866  ninety 
miles  of  this  road  were  surrendered  to  the  State.  This 
the  State  sold  to  General  Fremont  and  others,  who 
agreed  to  complete  the  road  within  a  given  time,  or,  fail 
ing  so  to  do,  to  forfeit  all  interests  therein.  They  failed, 
and  under  the  agreement,  and  a  law  authorizing  such 
action,  the  State  seized  upon  the  road  and  became  full 
possessor.  Then  General  Fisk  was  sent  as  the  State's 
agent  to  General  Fremont  to  see  if  that  gentleman  would 


AS  A   RAILROAD   FINANCIER.  129 

take  and  run  the  road,  but  he  declined.  Scandal  had 
grown  out  of  its  management,  and  Fremont  preferred 
not  to  assume  any  liabilities,  or  appear  to  derive  personal 
benefits  from  the  changes  which  had  taken  place. 

At  the  request  of  Governor  Fletcher,  General  Fisk 
assumed  full  direction  of  the  road,  and  ran  it  for  the 
State.  He  gave  to  it  better  system,  close  economy,  live 
enterprise,  and  success.  lie  made  it  pay.  He  made  it 
a  valuable  property.  But  this  arrangement  could  not 
last.  Missouri  was  not  a  railway  corporation.  The 
State  did  not  wish  permanently  to  engage  in  railway 
management.  Some  different  plans  must  soon  be  set  in 
motion.  So  General  Fisk  enlisted  other  gentlemen  with 
him,  and  the  road  became  theirs  under  conditions  guar 
anteeing  the  State  against  loss,  and  insuring  completion 
of  the  enterprise.  Fifteen  men  put  $100,000  each  into 
the  State  treasury,  as  an  earnest  of  good  faith,  to  be 
drawn  out  as  the  work  progressed,  and  the  State,  in  re 
turn,  gave  to  them  the  road  and  its  original  grant  of 
1,000,000  acres  of  land.  Newly  chartered  as  the  South 
Pacific,  this  road  of  so  many  changes  and  doubts  became 
a  fixed  fact,  and  its  individual  promoters  realized  hand 
somely  therefrom.  General  Fisk  was  vice-president  and 
land  commissioner  of  it,  and  gave  it  his  best  managerial 
abilities. 

He  remained  in  this  connection  till  the  early  summer 
of  1877,  but  removed  to  New  York  in  1872.  The  ten 
years  of  his  railroad  activities  were  wonderfully  busy 
and  fairly  profitable  years.  Sagacious  as  a  financier, 
methodical,  and  everywhere  commanding  confidence,  he 
gave  the  firm  tone  of  integrity  to  his  enterprise,  and  lib 
eral  results  followed.  His  removal  to  New  York, 
though  not  considered  permanent,  seemed  essential  to 
business  interest,  and  threw  him  actively  in  association 


130  LIFE    OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK. 

with  vast  monetary  resources.  He  won  speedy  recog 
nition  as  a  man  of  clear  brain,  strong  character,  quick 
but  cool  judgment,  and  unflagging  zeal. 

His  aid  came  to  be  sought  on  every  side.  His  name 
was  wanted  in  the  directory  of  great  insurance  com 
panies,  banking  corporations,  and  similar  concerns. 
Church  and  other  philanthropies  called  upon  him  for  ser 
vice  and  counsel.  Colleges  insisted  upon  making  him  a 
trustee.  The  Government  appointed  him  to  a  respon 
sible  place  of  trust  as  a  known  philanthropist  and  the 
Indian's  friend.  The  cause  of  temperance  claimed  his 
constant  sympathy  and  frequent  help.  He  was  desired 
as  the  guardian  of  great  estates.  At  army  reunions  and 
other  banquets  his  voice  was  invited  for  the  happy  cheer 
it  could  give  and  the  inspiration  it  lent.  Vast  gather 
ings  of  various  religious  bodies  were  not  complete  till 
General  Fisk  came.  Night  and  day,  seven  days  out  of 
the  week,  his  brain  toiled  and  his  heart  beat  for  busy 
humanity  round  about  him.  Nothing  but  steady  habits 
from  boyhood  up,  and  blood  pure  from  any  taint  of 
poisonous  excesses,  kept  him  from  speedily  breaking 
down. 

The  wonder  to  family  and  friends  was  how  he  could 
stand  such  an  incessant  strain.  Equable  temper  and 
serene  philosophy  carried  him  through  a  long  time. 
Amid  fires  of  excitement  which  would  send  the  pulses 
of  most  men  far  above  blood-heat,  he  could  be  cool  and 
calm.  Business  was  always  put  away  for  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  amusement  waited  on  duty  ;  and  with  faith 
in  the  heart  and  coolness  in  the  head  he  would  not  let 
worry  kill  when  work  might  not. 

But  suddenly,  in  1877,  a  break  came.  His  fine  ner 
vous  system  gave  way.  The  time  had  come  to  halt. 
He  resigned  all  railroad  connection,  threw  business  cares, 


AS   A    RAILROAD   FDSTAKCIER.  131 

all  one  side,  and  in  three  days,  at  the  command  of  phy 
sicians,  started  for  Europe.  His  companion  was  Mr. 
Oliver  Hoyt,  of  Stamford,  Conn. 

They  spent  all  that  season  abroad.  Putting  care 
quite  away,  General  Fisk  sought  recreation,  and  the  new 
vigor  it  should  bring.  He  revelled  in  history,  scenery, 
and  romance.  Not  seeking  human  contact,  he  yet  came 
to  meet  many  whom  the  world  calls  great.  Among 
these  was  the  Emperor  William  I.,  with  whom  a  very 
pleasing  interview  was  enjoyed.  The  Jubilee  Singers 
had  made  General  Fisk's  name  familiar  throughout 
Great  Britain  and  over  the  Continent,  and  he  found  him 
self,  through  them  and  their  songs,  inseparably  identified, 
among  lovers  of  liberty,  with  the  cause  of  freedom  in 
America.  A  hearty  welcome  waited  him  in  England 
and  Germany,  and  his  receptions  and  greetings  were  al 
most  embarrassing  in  both  countries. 

He  was  in  London  during  the  anniversary  of  the  Brit 
ish  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  and  its  President,  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury,  invited  him  to  deliver  an  address.  No 
other  occasion,  perhaps,  could  have  induced  him  then  to 
make  a  public  effort  ;  but  this  appealed  swiftly  and 
powerfully  to  his  deepest  sympathies,  on  its  own  account, 
and  because  the  Jubilee  Singers  were  present  to  make 
music  for  the  great  throng.  From  reports  in  a  London 
paper  it  would  appear  that  General .  Fisk  enraptured  the 
earl  and  those  five  thousand  shouting  Englishmen  beside 
to  whom  he  spoke.  Their  applause  was  electric,  and 
grew  more  frequent  to  the  end.  After  thanking  them 
for  their  reception  of  the  Jubilee  Singers  on  a  former 
visit,  and  for  material  aid  rendered  Fisk  University 
through  them,  he  said  : 

"  England  and  America,  partners  in  olden  times  in  planting  and 
maintaining  slavery  on  the  shores  of  the  new  continent,  in  later  days 


132  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK   BOWEN   FISK. 

unite  in  saying  that  no  slave  can  breathe  on  any  soil  over  which  floats 
the  Union  Jack  or  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  England  through  peaceable 
measures  broke  the  shackles  of  her  bondsmen  ;  America,  through  a 
long  and  bloody  war,  which  cost  millions  of  treasure  and  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  our  best  sons,  who  sleep  to-day  in  soldiers'  graves. 

"  '  On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
While  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead.' 

With  you  we  share  the  glory  incident  to  the  extinction  of  slavery  ; 
with  you  lift  up  our  songs  of  deliverance  to  the  music  of  the  break 
ing  of  the  fetters  of  human  bondage,  ringing  over  the  hills  and 
plains  and  across  the  seas,  heralding  the  Jubilee  of  our  millions  of 
freed  people.  '  It  was  the  Lord's  doings,  and  it  was  marvellous  in 

our  eyes.' 

"  '  Speed  on  Thy  work,  Lord  God  of  Hosts, 
And  now  the  bondsman  chain  is  riven, 
And  swells  from  all  our  guilty  coasts 
The  anthem  of  the  free  to  heaven. 

"  '  O  not  to  those  whom  thou  hast  led, 

As  with  Thy  cloud  and  fire  before, 
But  unto  Thee,  in  fear  and  dread, 
Be  praise  and  glory  evermore  !'  " 

General  Fisk's  references  to  the  inception  of  Fisk  Uni 
versity,  and  the  work  it  had  undertaken  to  do,  and  to 
Jubilee  Hall,  which  their  contributions  had  helped  erect, 
were  followed  by  this  tribute  to  one  whom  all  men  honor 
and  all  Englishmen  love  : 

"  And  now,  working  by  faith  we  have  begun  a  new  building,  to  be 
specially  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  missionaries  for  Africa.  At 
its  baptism  a  few  weeks  since  we  gave  it  a  name  loved  and  honored 
in  every  Christian  household  throughout  the  wide,  wide  world,  as 
also  in  the  abodes  of  the  heathen,  to  whom  he  gave  the  best  years  of 
his  great  life — that  true  son  of  science,  that  hero  of  heroes,  that 
humble  and  earnest  missionary  of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  David  Living 
stone.  England  did  him  honor,  and  honored  herself,  when  she  as 
signed  him  to  resting  place  with  the  great 

"  '  In  the  great  minster  transept, 

Where  lights  like  glories  fall, 
And  the  sweet  choir  sings 
And  the  organ  rings 

Along  its  emblazoned  wall. 


AS   A   RAILROAD   FINANCIER.  133 

"  He  sleeps  by  the  side  of  the  best  and  bravest — heroes,  statesmen, 
and  poets — men  of  art,  men  of  letters,  men  of  philanthropy — but 
amid  the  rich  memorials  of  greatness  there  is 

"  '  No  storied  urn  or  animated  bust ' 

which  tells  of  a  nobler  life  than  that  of  David  Livingstone.  It  is  our 
purpose  to  give  him  honor  by  the  erection  of  Livingstone  Mission 
Hall,  from  which  we  trust  there  shall,  as  the  years  roll  on,  go  forth  a 
multitude  who  will  do  honorable  service  for  the  Master  in  regions 
opened  to  the  world  through  the  long  weary  years  of  his  explorations. 
We  would  have  all  Christian  lands,  all  Christians,  unite  with  us  in 
this  great  work." 

The  reports  then  go  on  to  state  that  upon  the  platform 
with  General  Fisk  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Moffat,  father-in- 
law  of  David  Livingstone,  and  that  he  followed  the  gen 
eral  in  a  fervent  speech  in  behalf  of  the  culture  of  the 
colored  people  of  America. 


CHAPTEK   XXI. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  INDIAN  COMMISSION. 

THE  same  abiding  sympathy,  and  enduring  sense  of 
justice,  that  made  General  Fisk  the  protector  and  guar 
dian  of  f reedmen,  made  him  the  sure  ally  and  friend  of 
the  Indian.  Alive  to  current  events,  and  well  posted  in 
the  history  of  Indian  affairs,  he  knew  how  gravely  our 
Government  had  fallen  short  of  right  and  duty  in  its 
treatment  of  the  aboriginal  tribes.  He  felt  the  shame 
of  its  base  betrayals  and  repeated  acts  of  unfaith.  He 
again  and  again  spoke  freely  his  mind  about  it  all,  and 
demanded,  in  the  name  of  civilization  and  humanity, 
the  better  and  nobler  policies  possible.  His  heart  and 
mind  were  actively  reaching  out  to  the  plains  and  moun 
tains  where  wrong  too  often  dominated,  and  misery  was 
the  ever-growing  result.  His  interest  in  the  Indian's 
welfare  steadily  increased. 

In  1874  General  Grant  sent  for  him.  As  President, 
Grant  was  better  informed  on  Indian  matters  than  per 
haps  any  other  executive  had  been.  He  was  also  serving 
his  second  term,  and  his  original  knowledge  of  aboriginal 
things  had  grown  much.  He  desired  the  most  liberal, 
faithful,  and  far-sighted  Indian  policy,  and  wanted  the 
Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  to  be  of  the  broadest 
Christian  and  humanitarian  type.  They  had  known 
each  other,  he  and  General  Fisk,  since  1858.  During 
the  war  they  had  seldom  met,  though  General  Fisk  was 
some  time,  as  foregoing  pages  have  shown,  in  Grant's 


PRESIDENT   OF   THE   INDIAN"   COMMISSION.  135 

army  besieging  Yicksburg.  General  Fisk  had  a  call  from 
him  at  Helena,  it  is  true,  and  remembered  well  Grant's 
plain  demeanor  at  that  time,  also  his  strong  mental  grasp 
of  the  situation.  Since  the  war  they  had  come  often 
together,  and  the  qualities  of  General  Fisk  were  well 
known  to  Grant,  and  greatly  admired  by  him.  He  sent 
for  General  Fisk  because  he  knew  him  so  well. 

"  I  want  you  at  the  Indian  Commission's  head,"  was 
the  declaration  of  President  Grant. 

To  take  this  place  involved  additional  burdens  for  an 
already  overburdened  man,  but  he  acquiesced.  When 
has  he  ever  failed  to  respond  where  duty's  call  was 
heard  ?  Appointed  commissioner,  he  was  elected  Presi 
dent  of  the  Commission  by  his  colleagues,  and  has  held 
that  responsible  yet  unsalaried  place  ever  since.  For 
fourteen  years  now,  without  reward  or  hope  of  reward, 
he  has  given  freely  of  his  time,  his  energy,  his  means, 
to  carry  forward  that  broad,  sagacious,  philanthropic 
policy  which  looks  to  the  ultimate  end  of  all  Indian 
troubles  and  cost  through  the  full,  intelligent,  responsi 
ble  citizenship  of  every  Indian  within  our  national 
domain. 

Of  the  important  work  which  this  board  has  done  little 
seems  generally  known,  though  its  annual  reports  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  have  furnished  ample  informa 
tion,  and  its  frequent  meetings  and  annual  conferences 
have  been  well  reported  in  our  public  prints.  The  an 
nual  reports  contain  a  vast  array  of  interesting  facts 
about  tribal  conditions,  school  experiments,  etc.,  and 
some  of  them  embody  full  records  of  the  Lake  Mohonk 
annual  conference,  held  every  autumn  at  the  residence 
of  Commissioner  Smiley.  At  the  third  annual  thus 
held,  when  General  Fisk  was  a  third  time  chosen  Presi 
dent  of  the  Conference,  in  accepting  the  place  he  said  : 


136  LIFE   OP   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

"  There  is  some  progress  in  Indian  affairs— not  great,  but  we  may 
say  there  is  progress.  General  Grant  in  his  first  message  used  about 
this  language  :  '  The  treatment  of  the  original  owners  of  this  country 
has  been  such  from  the  beginning  as  to  lead  to  continual  murder  and 
robbery  and  all  sorts  of  affliction.'  He  added  that  his  own  knowl 
edge  of  matters  on  the  frontier,  his  own  experience  as  a  soldier, 
led  him  to  believe  that  the  rulers  of  this  country  had  pursued  a 
course,  or  that  national  legislation  had  been  such,  from  the  begin 
ning,  as  to  be  most  harmful  to  the  Indian.  He  then  said  :  '  I  have 
adopted  a  new  policy,  which  is  working  well  and  from  which  I  hope 
the  best  results.'  The  new  policy  was  the  legislation  which  provided 
for  the  appointment  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  and 
such  other,  in  the  spring  of  1869,  as  led  to  a  better  understanding  of 
Indian  affairs.  From  that  time — from  the  time  when  a  certain  dele- 
gation,  one  of  the  members  of  which  is  in  this  room,  visited  Presi 
dent  Grant,  when  he  said  his  knowledge  as  President  and  his  knowl 
edge  as  an  old  soldier  should  be  thrown  in  the  right  direction  for  the 
Indian — progress  has  been  marked.  At  midnight  on  March  3d,  1871, 
Congress  made  that  remarkable  declaration  that  thenceforth  no 
treaty  should  be  made  with  an  Indian  tribe.  They  reached  that 
decision  after  having  made  four  hundred  treaties,  which  had  been 
frequently  broken,  with  nearly  one  hundred  tribes.  Congress  said, 
We  will  put  a  stop  to  this  wrong  ;  we  will  not  regard  any  tribe  as  a 
nation.  From  that  time  we  have  been  visiting  nearly  all  the  larger 
tribes  and  making  certain  agreements  with  them  that  are  working 
for  better  things.  Many  of  us  are  beginning  to  believe  that  the 
Indian  has  made  all  the  progress  he  can  under  the  conditions  which 
have  obtained  in  the  past. 

"  At  the  first  interview  I  had  with  General  Grant  after  coming  into 
this  Board  of  Commissioners,  he  said,  '  The  trouble  is,  we  regard  the 
Indians  as  nations,  when  they  are  simply  our  wards.'  General 
Grant  went  out  on  the  skirmish  line.  Said  he,  *  We  must  make  the 
Indian  believe  us  ;  we  must  treat  him  as  a  ward.  We  should  work 
especially  to  throw  down  every  barrier  in  this  country,  so  as  to  have 
no  foot  of  land  on  which  any  American  may  not  go.'  This,  of 
course,  meant  the  doing  away  with  all  reservations,  and  pointed  to 
the  ultimate  citizenship  of  the  Indian  ;  to  his  absorption,  for  which 
we  have  been  working  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  We  owe  the 
Indian  a  great  deal — land,  homes,  law,  and,  above  all,  patience  and 
care.  With  such  help  coming  to  him,  and  in  confiding  in  those  who 
deal  with  him,  it  will  not  be  difficult  in  the  future  to  settle  this  prob 
lem,  It  was  more  than  a  score  of  years  ago  that  I  met  Bishop 


PRESIDENT   OF  THE   INDIAN   COMMISSION.  137 

Whipple,  at  Washington,  pleading  for  the  Sioux.  Mr.  Stanton  said, 
'  What  does  Bishop  Whipple  want  ?  If  he  wants  to  tell  us  that  we  have 
done  wrong,  we  know  it.  The  remedy  is  not  at  this  end  of  the  avenue  ; 
it  is  at  the  other  end.  When  you  convince  people,  when  you  make 
the  right  sentiment  that  shall  lead  Congressmen  to  believe  they  had 
better  give  attention  to  this  matter,  then  I  shall  believe  the  time  is 
not  far  distant  when  there  will  be  no  Indians  who  are  not  American 
citizens.  It  is  astonishing  that  nearly  sixty  millions  of  people  can 
not  manage  these  few.'  " 

On  November  10th,  1885,  with  a  committee  from  the 
Mohonk  conference,  General  Fisk  called  upon  President 
Cleveland,  to  interest  him  still  further  in  the  Indian  re 
form.  After  that  committee's  interview  with  the  Ex 
ecutive,  and  at  his  request,  the  general  addressed  him  a 
formal  letter  of  suggestions,  which  so  thoroughly  covers 
the  ground  of  the  proposed  reform,  and  so  well  sets  forth 
the  conclusions  of  those  who  have  made  Indian  affairs  a 
careful  study,  that  much  of  it  shall  be  given  here  : 

"  The  Indian  question  is  partly  administrative,  partly  legislative. 
In  so  far  as  it  is  administrative  we  have  nothing  to  urge  except 
expedition  in  every  measure  which  promises  to  secure  permanent 
tenure  of  land  in  severalty  to  those  Indians  already  entitled  to  it, 
rapidity  in  issuing  patents  where  they  have  been  provided  for  by  law, 
and  the  greatest  care  in  securing  and  retaining,  both  as  agents  and 
superintendents  of  education,  men  who  are  fitted  by  nature  and  as 
far  as  possible  by  experience  for  the  very  difficult  task  intrusted  to 
them. 

"  We  strongly  and  heartily  second  the  purpose  indicated  by  Mr. 
Oberly  at  the  Lake  Mohonk  conference  to  require  certificates  of  com 
petence  of  all  candidates  for  appointment  as  teachers,  and  his  plan 
briefly  outlined  for  a  convention  of  Indian  school  superintendents  to 
discuss  the  problem  of  Indian  education. 

"  The  legislative  question  presents  greater  theoretical  difficulties. 
But  certain  things  appear  to  us  clear  and  of  both  immediate  and 
pressing  importance. 

"  Congress  has  already  provided  by  treaty  a  law  for  the  survey  in 
.sections  and  quarter- sections  of  twelve  reservations.  The  list  of 
Jhese  reservations,  with  reference  to  the  laws,  is  appended.  We  would 


138  LIFE   OF  CLINTON   BOWEK   FISK. 

earnestly  urge  the  immediate  appropriation  by  Congress  of  the  neces 
sary  funds  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  these  laws  already  enacted, 
and  thus  prepare  the  way  to  give  land  in  severalty  to  the  Indians 
who  occupy  these  reservations  and  to  throw  open  the  unallotted  land 
in  them  to  settlement. 

"  We  earnestly  recommend  the  adoption  by  Congress  of  a  law  con 
ferring  upon  the  President  power,  in  his  discretion,  to  cause  surveys 
of  other  reservations  and  the  allotment  of  land  in  severalty  to  the 
tribes  occupying  them  as  rapidly  as  their  consent  can  be  obtained, 
the  purchase  by  the  Government  at  a  fair  valuation  of  all  the  un 
allotted  land  in  such  reservations,  the  cash  value  thereof  to  be  appro 
priated  for  the  industrial  and  educational  advantages  of  the  tribe, 
and  the  opening  by  this  method  to  settlement  of  the  reservations  so 
allotted  and  purchased.  A  measure  embodying  these  principles  has 
already  twice  passed  the  Senate  at  the  last  session,  if  not  on  both 
occasions  unanimously,  and  has  also  received  the  official  approval  of 
the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  in  the  House  ;  and  we  trust  that  it 
will  only  require  the  endorsement  of  the  Executive  to  secure  its  final 
passage  by  the  Forty-ninth  Congress. 

"  Of  course  all  Indian  titles  should  be  made  inalienable  for  a  term 
of  years  ;  all  Indians  taking  land  in  severalty  should  receive  the  full 
protection  accorded  by  the  law  to  other  citizens,  and  as  soon  as  any 
tribe  is  fairly  equipped  in  individual  homes  and  made  competent  for 
self-support,  all  annuities  should  cease. 

"  In  addition  to  these  measures,  which  we  think  might  properly 
be  urged  upon  the  immediate  attention  of  Congress  with  a  reasonable 
expectation  that  they  would  be  promptly  and  with  substantial  una 
nimity  passed,  we  respectfully  submit  to  your  consideration  a  third, 
which  is  the  result  of  a  considerable  degree  of  consideration  and 
discussion  on  our  part. 

"  We  are  thoroughly  convinced  that  with  comparatively  few  excep 
tions  the  Indians  can  be  prepared  for  land  in  severalty  and  the  perils 
and  protection  of  citizenship  as  rapidly  as  the  Government  can  well 
provide  the  necessary  surveys  and  allotments  of  land  ;  that,  as  a  rule, 
it  is  safe  to  throw  upon  their  resources  and  the  protection  of  the  local 
community,  with  the  added  safeguards  of  the  United  States  courts, 
any  tribe  of  Indians  who  are  ready  and  willing  to  accept  the  boon 
and  the  burdens  of  civilization. 

"  We  therefore  unite  in  recommending  that  Congress  be  asked  to 
provide  for  the  creation  of  an  executive  commission,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  President,  to  open  negotiations  with  the  various  tribes,  as  rap 
idly  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  President,  is  compatible  with  the  safety 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE   LtfDIAH   COMMISSION.  139 

and  well-being  both  of  the  Indians  and  their  white  neighbors,  in 
order  to  secure  their  consent  to  the  abrogation  of  the  reservation,  to 
land  in  severalty,  to  the  cessation  of  annuities,  and  to  the  citizenship 
of  the  emancipated  Indians. 

"  We  believe  that  the  time  is  fully  ripe  for  the  inauguration  of 
such  a  policy.  This  is  no  sudden  conclusion  ;  we  have  come  to  it 
gradually,  as  the  result  of  study  and  deliberation.  And  it  is  our  pro 
found  conviction  that  this  Administration  can  render  no  greater  ser 
vice  to  the  nation  than  by  inaugurating,  and  if  possible  carrying 
through  to  its  consummation,  a  policy  which  shall  solve  the  Indian 
problem  by  emancipating  the  Indian  from  his  present  condition  of 
pupilage  and  pauperism,  and  his  white  neighbors  from  their  alternate 
experiences  of  terror  and  of  wrath. " 

Under  the  Indian  Commission's  wise  policy  it  has 
effected  the  organization  of  several  industrial  schools — 
one  at  Hampton,  Ya. ;  one  at  Carlisle,  Pa.;  one  at  Law 
rence,  Kan.;  one  at  Chilocco,  in  the  Indian  Territory  ; 
one  at  Genoa,  Neb. ;  and  one  at  Salem,  Ore.  In  these 
are  being  trained  and  taught  over  two  thousand  Indian 
children,  and  fitted  for  civilized  home-life  when  they 
go  back  to  their  reservations.  To  visit  some  of  these 
schools  has  been  a  duty  General  Fisk  enjoyed,  and  also 
to  visit  several  of  the  reservations. 

It  was  his  happy  tact  and  strong  good  sense  which 
gave  peace  to  the  Creek  nation  in  1883.  He  and 
others  were  appointed,  by  the  Indian  authorities  at 
Washington,  a  special  commission  to  visit  the  Creeks 
and  adjust,  if  possible,  the  serious  difficulties  which  had 
long  disturbed  them.  Himself  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  General  E.  Whittlesey, 
were  the  only  ones  to  reach  Muscogee,  Ind.  Terr., 
for  the  duty  assigned.  They  went  there  in  August,  and 
met,  in  several  daily  sessions,  the  hostile  Creek  factions. 
So  strained  were  the  relations  between  these,  and  so 
fierce  the  individual  hatred  which  had  grown  up  between 
their  leaders,  that  division  of  the  Creek  country  was 


140  LIFE   OP   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

urgently  demanded  by  some,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
well-organized  Creek  government  appeared  likely  to 
many.  But  General  Fisk  plainly  told  them  that  the 
Creek  government  must  stand  and  the  Creek  lands  re 
main  undivided  ;  and  then  he  brought  both  sides 
together,  heard  their  respective  statements,  advised  a 
committee  to  harmonize  differences,  and,  with  that  good 
nature  and  good  sense  which  even  savages  could  not  re 
sist,  he  brought  them  soon  to  terms. 

Their  concurrent  agreement  was  read  in  triplicate, 
finally,  at  the  Methodist  Church  in  Muscogee,  before  the 
reunited  Creeks.  It  was  then  signed  by  the  leading  men 
of  each  faction,  and  some  "  talks  "  followed  which  were 
full  of  General  Fisk's  own  spirit  of  kindly  Christian 
good- will.  These  remarks,  among  others,  were  made 
by  Chief  Checote,  head  of  the  nation  : 

"  It  will  be  well  for  all  the  Creek  people  if  they  will  hereafter 
endeavor,  on  all  occasions,  under  all  circumstances,  to  have  their 
affections  placed  upon  each  other's  good.  That  alone  will  bring 
happiness  and  prosperity. 

"  These  good  men,  these  commissioners  sent  to  help  us,  have  not 
only  used  their  own  judgment  ;  more  than  that,  they  look  up  to  the 
Giver  of  all  things  ;  they  invoke  His  blessing  upon  you,  upon  all  of 
us,  in  bringing  about  this  great  good,  so  that  we  should  hereafter 
remember  this  meeting.  We  should  never  forget  the  lesson  learned 
here,  but  remember  what  we  have  done  on  this  occasion  in  bringing 
about  the  peace  desired.  We  have  once  more  made  a  great  agree 
ment.  We  have  agreed  to  be  united.  We  have  united.  Now  let  us 
be  united  in  all  the  future. 

"  My  friends,  we  should  advise  all  our  people  at  home  to  look  well 
to  their  farms  and  herds  of  cattle,  to  be  industrious,  to  be  good 
farmers,  and  attend  well  to  their  business  ;  then  alone  can  they  expect 
happiness  and  prosperity.  Above  all,  advise  all  the  people  to  look 
well  to  the  welfare  of  your  children  ;  send  them  to  school  ;  keep 
them  there  ;  use  your  best  efforts  to  have  them  educated  ;  and  when 
we  have  passed  away  they  will  take  our  places  and  care  for  the 
necessities  of  our  people." 


PRESIDENT   OF   THE   INDIAN   COMMISSION.  141 

After  Isparhechee,  leader  of  the  revolt  against  Checote, 
had,  at  General  Fisk's  request,  said  "  Amen  "  to  all 
Checote' s  words,  the  general  dismissed  them  with  this 
admirable  advice  : 

"  Peace  is  so  much  better  than  war.  I  had  rather  see  regiments  of 
corn  growing  in  the  fields  than  to  see  regiments  of  men  ready  for  a 
fight ;  and  instead  of  columns  of  men  standing  in  line  of  battle  with 
uplifted  guns  and  painted  faces,  I  should  prefer  to  see  the  corn 
stalks  lift  their  spears  to  the  sun  and  shake  their  tassels  in  the  winds 
that  play  over  the  plains  of  the  Muscogees.  We  hope  to  hear  that 
you  are  all  in  your  homes  with  restored  industries  and  doing  that 
that  will  bring  prosperity  to  your  nation.  Let  us  forget  the  things 
of  the  past,  and  look  forward  with  hope.  Let  us  not  talk  so  much 
about  how  loyal  a  man  was  to  the  United  States  Government  twenty 
years  ago,  but  how  loyal  each  man  can  be  to  the  Creek  Government 
— to  his  own  nation.  Let  the  school -houses  be  erected  and  the 
children  placed  therein,  and  it  will  bring  you  greater  joy,  greater 
prosperity  than  if  you  were  in  camps  concocting  schemes  against 
each  other.  And  now,  in  bidding  you  good-by,  I  can  express  for  you 
no  better  wish  than  that,  after  serving  as  the  best  citizens  in  this 
country,  you  may  all  have  citizenship  in  that  better  country  which  is 
an  heavenly  one." 

The  Eev.  T.  W.  Ferryman  led  in  a  closing  prayer, 
the  doxology  was  sung,  and  Chief  Checote  pronounced 
the  benediction  ;  after  which  there  was  an  informal  but 
almost  general  interchange  of  friendly  greeting  between 
the  late  opponents,  and  the  assembly  broke  up  in  uni 
versal  rejoicing  and  mutual  congratulation.  Peace  had 
indeed  come  to  the  Creeks. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SOME    TROUBLED    DAYS. 

DURING  the  years  1878,  1879,  and  1880,  much  grief  and 
trouble  came  to  General  Fisk.  His  mother  died  in  the 
spring  of  1878.  In  1874  he  had  built  a  house  for  his 
brother  Horace  two  miles  northeast  of  Clinton,  Mich., 
and  on  a  farm  neighbor  to  that  owned  by  Elder  Powell, 
their  stepfather,  who  died  about  that  time.  Once  more 
a  widow,  and  at  an  advanced  age,  Mrs.  Powell's  one  de 
sire  was  to  spend  her  remaining  days  with  those  nearest 
her  heart.  In  the  new  home  of  his  brother,  Horace  A., 
Clinton  B.  fitted  up  a  suite  of  rooms  for  their  mother 
with  every  comfort,  and  lacking  naught  to  make  glad 
and  peaceful  her  Indian  summer  of  life. 

And  there  she  "  fell  on  sleep."  She  sat  knitting  one 
day,  and  was  suddenly  paralyzed.  She  could  barely 
speak,  but  she  recognized  her  sons.  When  Clinton 
came  she  was  rejoiced,  and  willing  then  to  go.  He  sat 
down  beside  her,  and  she  signalled  him  to  sing.  Her 
favorite  hymns  were  "  Rock  of  Ages"  and  "  Jesus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul."  He  sang  them  both  through,  his 
voice  trembling  with  the  sorrow  of  her  speedy  loss. 
Then  he  prayed  that  her  end  might  be  gentleness  and 
peace.  And  almost  while  he  prayed  the  fluttering  spirit 
fled  ;  the  mother  to  whom,  under  God,  he  owed  all,  had 
grown  immortal. 

Her  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Clinton,  that  being  the  largest  audience  room 


SOME   TROUBLED    DAYS.  143 

in  the  village,  near  the  little  home  where  she  and  the  boy 
Clinton  had  seen  such  early  struggles  together.  From 
miles  around  the  people  assembled  there  to  pay  their 
last  and  loving  tribute  to  one  whom  all  respected,  whose 
long  life  of  more  than  fourscore  years  had  been  help 
ful,  hopeful,  and  faithfully  devout.  Her  truest  monu 
ment  she  left  in  their  tender  memory,  and  in  the  Chris 
tian  manliness  of  her  surviving  sons. 

The  two  years  following  were  prolific  of  speculation. 
The  capitalists  of  New  York  grew  wild  with  mining 
fever,  and  formed  companies  for  Western  operations 
with  a  reckless  unconcern  of  consequences  that  now  can 
not  be  understood.  Within  a  few  months  over  forty 
million  dollars  of  New  York  capital  found  investment  in 
the  West.  Many  companies  were  often  organized  in  a 
day.  Mining  stocks  became  the  craze.  The  best  and 
most  prudent  business  men  of  the  metropolis  caught  at 
them,  eagerly,  and  clung  to  them  as  profitable  beyond 
perad venture.  Some  of  the  mines  were  "  wildcat," 
doubtless  ;  many  were  "  salted  ;"  a  few  existed  on  paper 
alone  ;  and  the  most,  it  is  probable,  lacked  only  money, 
experience,  and  fair  mining  equipment  to  be  made  pay 
ing  properties.  In  the  aggregate  they  were  one  huge 
rat-hole,  into  which  money  was  poured  like  water  and 
never  pumped  out. 

With  others,  gentlemen  of  the  highest  commercial 
honor  and  Christian  integrity,  General  Fisk  engaged  in 
mining  ventures,  and  lost.  They  had  actual  mines,  in 
Arizona  and  elsewhere,  and  should  have  coined  wealth 
from  them,  according  to  all  mining  theories  ;  but  those 
theories  oftener  fail  than  win.  The  veins  cost  unduly 
to  develop  ;  or  water  is  remote  and  must  be  had  at  any 
outlay  ;  or  machinery  eats  up  all  the  output  ;  or  the 
superintendent  proves  inexperienced,  if  not  a  thief — 


14:4  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEK   FISK. 

something  can  be  cited  to  show  why  fair  prospects  do 
not  materialize.  It  is  the  law  of  mining  enterprises, 
and  can  be  relied  upon.  General  Fisk  learned  all  about 
it  in  due  time,  but  the  schooling  came  dear.  However, 
he  did  not  sorely  complain.  He  was  not  bankrupt,  even 
by  the  loss  of  a  large  fortune.  He  had  a  home  yet  in 
St.  Louis,  and  a  more  alluring  one,  recently  acquired, 
down  in  New  Jersey,  and  a  competence  besides.  His 
health  had  been  restored,  and  he  could  make  another  for 
tune  if  need  be. 

One  effort  to  that  end,  however,  only  occasioned 
further  loss,  and  yet  further  and  more  aggravating  litiga 
tion.  It  was  connected,  in  some  degree,  with  the  min 
ing  matters  referred  to.  As  concise  an  account  of  it, 
probably,  as  could  be  given,  appeared  in  the  Seabright 
(N.  J.)  Sentinel,  a  Republican  paper,  in  the  summer  of 
1886,  when  General  Fisk  was  making  his  campaign  as 
Prohibition  candidate  for  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  It 
ran  thus  : 

"  Every  newspaper  in  the  State  has  heretofore  published  full 
details  of  the  inception  and  growth  of  the  conspiracy  to  blackmail 
General  Fisk,  and  of  his  triumphs  over  the  villains  who  made  the 
attack.  The  press  without  exception  commended  the  general's 
course,  and  congratulated  him  on  his  victory.  From  the  reports  of 
the  cases,  on  file  in  every  newspaper  office,  may  be  learned  that  in 
1879  General  Fisk  aided  two  young  men  to  go  into  the  business  of 
banking  and  brokerage  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  general  fur 
nished  all  of  the  capital.  Neither  of  the  young  men  had  a  dollar  in 
money.  One  held  a  seat  in  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  but 
encumbered  by  an  indebtedness  that  the  general  furnished  funds  to 
liquidate.  The  firm  began  business  under  the  name  of  Clinton  B. 
Fisk  &  Co. 

"  In  1880  the  general  discovered  irregularities  on  the  part  of  his 
partners  that  led  him  to  give  notice  that  the  firm  must  be  dissolved 
at  the  close  of  the  year.  The  young  men  could  not  bear  prosperity. 
The  saloon  had  obtained  mastery  over  one,  and  was  rapidly  destroy 
ing  the  other.  By  means  of  fictitious  and  fraudulent  entries  on  the 


SOME  TROUBLED    DAYS.  145 

books  of  the  firm,  they  made  it  appear  that  General  Fisk  was  in 
debted  to  them,  and  brought  suit  for  recovery  of  a  falsely  claimed 
balance.  During  the  progress  of  the  suit  an  expert  accountant  dis 
covered  and  revealed  their  rascally  methods.  They  then  interested 
an  associate  conspirator,  a  former  customer  of  the  house,  by  repre 
senting  that  he  had  been  fraudulently  dealt  with  by  the  firm,  and 
led  him  into  an  attack  on  General  Fisk  in  the  courts,  and,  as  after 
ward  confessed  by  one  of  them,  they  thought  the  general  would  rather 
submit  to  blackmail  than  have  his  name  mixed  up  with  such  litiga 
tions. .  General  Fisk  would  not  be  blackmailed,  but  vigorously  de 
fended  their  suits. 

"  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York  gave  the  general  a 
verdict  against  the  conspiring  partners. 

"  The  Supreme  Court  found  that  these  said  partners  had  filled  the 
books  of  the  firm  with  fiction  and  fraud,  falsely  charging  to  General 
Fisk  the  sum  of  $104,985.86,  and  each  partner  falsely  placing  to  his 
own  credit  $45,160.  The  court  found  there  was  due  General  Fisk 
$26,062.63,  and  that  in  addition  thereto  the  partners  had  carried  off 
$3000  in  bonds,  the  personal  property  of  the  general.  The  New 
York  Tribune  reported  the  court's  decision  in  detail,  and  in  com 
menting  upon  the  case  said  : 

"  '  This  case  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  suit  for  damages 
against  General  Fisk,  based  on  some  mining  transactions.  In  the 
suit  Plaintiff  made  wild  and  reckless  charges  against  General  Fisk, 
and  procured  an  order  for  his  arrest  in  his  absence.  General  Fisk 
hastened  back  to  the  city  when  he  heard  of  it,  and  gave  a  clear  and 
convincing  explanation  of  the  whole  matter.  Plaintiff  has  admitted 
that  his  suit  was  inspired  by  the  conspiring  partners,  who,  having  a 
poor  case  themselves,  tried  to  annoy  General  Fisk,  and  give  him  all 
the  trouble  possible. ' 

"  The  press  throughout  the  country  made  similar  reports.  After 
General  Fisk  obtained  judgment  against  the  wicked,  ungrateful 
partners  whom  he  had  placed  in  business,  one  of  them  confessed  the 
entire  iniquity,  begged  pardon  and  indulgence,  and  subsequently 
paid  to  General  Fisk  the  sum  due  from  him.  The  other  followed  his 
saloon  instincts,  and  has  paid  nothing.  Their  associate  conspirator, 
who  at  their  instigation  had  brought  suit  against  General  Fisk,  find 
ing  himself  without  evidence  other  than  the  statements  of  the  con 
fessed  falsifiers  and  fraudulent  bookkeepers,  made  oath  that  he 
could  not  go  on  with  the  case  unless,  upon  an  examination  of  Gen 
eral  Fisk  before  trial,  he  might  learn  something  that  would  relieve 
him  from  the  charge  of  malicious  prosecution.  The  Supreme  Court 


146  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN    FISK. 

of  the  United  States  unanimously  decided  in  favor  of  General  Fisk 
on  that  point,  and  since  that  decision  no  word  has  been  heard  from 
any  of  the  conspiring  blackmailers." 

Put  forth  by  a  political  opponent  when  party  feeling 
ran  highest,  and  embodying  a  quotation  from  another 
paper  also  (and  bitterly)  opposed,  the  foregoing  may  be 
accepted  as  not  partial  to  General  Fisk  beyond  the  inevi 
table  tendency  of  truth  to  make  it  so.  He  was  in  Detroit, 
attending  to  the  care  of  a  large  trust  estate,  when  the 
order  for  his  arrest  appeared.  The  New  York  Herald 
wired  him  at  once  for  his  statement  of  the  case,  because 
much  exciting  comment  had  been  made,  and  printed  the 
same  in  full,  as  entire  truth.  He  promptly  returned 
to  New  York.  The  court  saw  fit  subsequently  to 
hold  him  in  constructive  contempt,  for  refusing  to 
answer  certain  questions  in  the  interest  of  his  pros 
ecutor,  but  dared  and  did  no  further  go.  General 
Fisk's  counsel  (Senator  Evarts  and  another)  forbade  the 
answers  sought,  and  reminded  the  court  that  there  were 
such  things  as  suits  for  malicious  prosecution,  and  dam 
ages  for  false  imprisonment.  It  was  to  avoid  these  that 
the  plaintiff,  by  whom  the  order  of  arrest  was  obtained, 
ceased  his  further  annoying  work,  and  that  the  court 
refused  to  proceed  so  far  as  he  had  insisted  the  court 
should. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CHURCH    ACTIVITIES. 

THE  church  activities  of  General  Fisk,  as  a  Christian 
worker,  and  as  a  leader  in  denominational  affairs,  have 
been  constant  ever  since  the  war's  interruption  of  them, 
and  constantly  growing.  No  single  layman  beside,  it  is 
probable,  has  ever  served  the  Methodist  Church  in  such 
diverse  and  responsible  positions,  and  for  so  long  a  time, 
as  has  he.  His  wider  official  relation  to  that  great  body 
began  in  1876,  when  he  was  made  one  of  its  Book  Com 
mittee. 

The  now  great  business  headquarters  of  Methodism  in 
this  country,  known  as  the  Book  Concern,  began  in  New 
York  in  1789,  upon  a  capital  of  six  hundred  dollars,  bor 
rowed  money.  It  has  grown  to  marvellous  extent  and 
power,  and  on  July  1st,  1887,  its  total  assets  were  $1,653,- 
197.66.  The  Book  Committee  has  care  of  this  vast 
material  interest,  and  is  made  up  of  one  member  from 
each  of  the  thirteen  denominational  districts,  with  three 
in  Cincinnati  and  three  also  in  N  ew  York.  This  impor 
tant  committee  is  divided  into  an  Eastern  Section  arid  a 
Western  Section,  with  locations  respectively  at  New 
York  and  Cincinnati  ;  and  the  Eastern  Section  is  charged 
with  supervision  of  the  New  York  publishing  house,  and 
all  properties  there.  A  burdensome  responsibility  thus 
rests  upon  it,  borne  more  especially  by  the  Local  Com 
mittee  of  Three,  of  whom  General  Fisk  has  long  been 
one. 


148  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEtf   FISK. 

With  Mr.  John  B.  Cornell  and  Mr.  Wm.  Hoyt,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  Taft,  General  Fisk  has  given  unremitting 
attention  to  the  Concern's  business  management,  and  to 
him  is  due  much  of  its  magnificent  growth.  It  testifies  of 
rare  unselfishness  when  such  men  spend  so  freely  of  time 
and  thought  to  push  forward  an  enterprise  that  yields  them 
no  dividends,  and  yet  causes  great  care. 

Mr.  Cornell,  who  died  at  Lakewood,  N.  J.,  Octo 
ber  26th,  1887,  was  the  general's  closest  church  friend 
and  business  adviser,  and  labored  with  him  in  loving 
unity  of  effort  many  years.  Mr.  Cornell,  too,  had 
come  up  from  a  poor  boyhood  to  large  wealth,  and 
their  sympathies  were  at  one  upon  many  lines.  "  An 
apprentice  at  forge  and  anvil,"  as  General  Fisk  said  of 
him  in  a  committee  report  after  his  death,  Mr.  Cornell 
had  become  the  largest  manufacturer  in  his  line  of  busi 
ness  in  the  world  ;  and  yet  he  could  and  did  serve  the 
church  of  his  heart  with  faithful  devotion.  But  he 
leaned  much  on  General  Fisk.  And  together,  and  with 
their  colleague,  they  applied  careful  business  methods  to 
the  Book  Concern  ;  they  placed  it  on  the  firm  foundations 
of  business  success. 

That  success  is  now  being  crowned  by  the  erection  of 
a  new  building  on  Fifth  Avenue,  concerning  which 
General  Fisk  lately  reported  as  follows  : 

' '  We  trust  the  entire  structure  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  in  the 
year  1889,  that  we  may  by  its  dedication  celebrate  the  centennial  of 
the  inauguration  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  in  1789.  It  is  a 
cause  for  devout  thanksgiving  to  God  that  he  has  made  the  Method 
ist  Episcopal  Church  instrumental  through  its  matchless  publishing 
interests  in  circulating  a  pure  and  wholesome  literature  throughout 
the  world,  thereby  supplementing  the  preached  Word  in  its  mission 
of  spreading  scriptural  holiness  over  all  lands." 

In  various  honorary  capacities,  temporarily  more  dis 
tinguished,  and  not  arduous,  General  Fisk  has  repre- 


CHURCH   ACTIVITIES.  149 

sented  Methodism  and  the   broad  cause  of   religion  in 
this  country  and  abroad. 

The  Second  International  Sunday-School  Conven 
tion  was  held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  beginning  April  17th, 
1878.  The  mayor  of  the  city,  and  His  Excellency 
Alfred  II.  Colquitt,  Governor  of  the  State,  made  ad 
dresses  of  welcome,  and  General  Fisk  gave  to  their  greet 
ings  fit  response  for  the  delegations  from  the  United 
States,  after  Rev.  John  Potts  had  answered  for  Canada. 
It  was  an  occasion  of  peculiar  good-fellowship  in  Chris 
tian  faith,  and  the  general  grew  peculiarly  felicitous  of 
utterance  as  he  spoke  on.  After  some  introductory  sen 
tences,  he  said  : 

"The  well-chosen  words  of  my  Canadian  brother  have  expressed 
so  well  all  that  can  be  uttered  by  way  of  grateful  response,  I  am 
inclined  to  adopt  them  as  my  own  in  behalf  of  the  United  States. 
Yet  he  will  admit  that  this  grand  country  of  ours  speaks  so  well  for 
itself  that  there  is  need  of  but  few  words  from  any  one  in  her  behalf. 
These  brothers  of  ours  astonish  us  with  their  warm  hearts.  But 
then,  you  know,  Canada  is  simply  an  annex  to  this  country ! 
[Laughter.]  And  we  must  remember  that  as  our  Annex  Memorial 
Art  building  at  the  Centennial  contained  many  of  the  choicest  gems 
of  the  great  Exposition,  so  Canada,  as  the  brilliantly  appointed  annex 
of  the  United  States,  contains  many  of  our  most  splendid  specimens 
of  English-speaking  people.  And  Dr.  Potts  would  make  us  believe 
that  their  excellent  virtues,  splendid  thrift  and  advanced  civilization 
are  the  result  of  government  by  that  most  noble  woman,  the  Queen 
of  England.  [Applause.]  I,  too,  am  governed  by  a  woman,  and  so 
are  you  [laughter  and  applause],  and  whatever  is  beautiful  in  our 
homes  and  country  is  largely  due  to  the  queenly  powers  of  woman, 
clothed  in  her  majesty  of  virtue  and  Christian  graces.  And  in  an 
other  sense  are  we  all  thus  governed.  Is  there  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  a  woman  who  rules  with  more  grace  and  dignity  than  she  who 
presides  in  the  Executive  Mansion  in  Washington?  [Prolonged 
applause.]  Much  of  the  good  there  is  in  our  noble  President — and 
there  is  a  great  deal  in  him — I  doubt  not  is  the  result  of  alliance 
with  one  who  was  faithful  as  Sunday-school  scholar,  and  teacher,  and 
worker  in  whatever  promotes  the  Master's  cause.  [Continued 
applause.]  The  Ohio  delegation  doubtless  remember  with  special 


150  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

pride  that  she  hails  from  their  great  State.  I  have  the  honor,  Mr. 
President,  to  bear  to  you  and  to  this  convention,  cordial  greetings 
from  the  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes.  They  commissioned  me  to  bear 
them  specially  to  you,  and  I  now  deliver  them.  [Applause  long  con 
tinued.] 

"One  of  my  most  intimate  travelling  companions  en  route  from 
New  York  to  Atlanta— and  I  had  a  host  of  most  pleasant  associates 
in  the  pilgrimage — was  that  to  me  the  chief  est  of  the  minor  prophets, 
Zechariah.  He  was  a  most  wonderful  character,  a  rare  combination, 
from  which  you  can  construct  a  junior  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  too.  It 
is  profitable  to  linger  among  the  prophetic  visions  and  utterances,  to 
go  backward  in  thought  to  the  time  and  place  when  and  where  the 
'  sure  word  of  prophecy '  was  born  ;  to  listen  to  the  song  of  the 
seer,  as  he  dwells  upon  his  ever-ultimate  theme — the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  His  Christ.  The  radiance,  the  fulness,  the  power  of  the 
whole  of  prophecy  centre  in  the  one  grand  idea— the  reign  of  God 
over  the  world  in  the  glorious  coming  years — 

"  '  The  glorious  coming  years,  the  glad  millennial  years— 
Our  prophet  eaw  them  far  upon  the  way, 

With  timbre]  and  with  song, 

Before  the  doubting  throng, 
He  bore  the  standard  of  the  coming  day.' 

"  Looking  across  the  gulf  of  centuries,  he  saw  the  incarnation,  the 
suffering,  and  the  glory  of  the  Messiah  ;  he  saw  the  developments, 
the  growth,  the  beauty  and  the  triumph  of  evangelical  truth.  With 
my  meditations  upon  the  visions  there  mingled  many  thoughts  of  the 
approaching  meeting  at  Atlanta.  I  saw  this  host  of  workers  in  the 
Master's  vineyard  thronging  toward  the  Mount  of  Love — as  in  the 
prophetic  vision,  flowing  '  together  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house.'  I  said,  certainly  we  are  living  amid  the  fulfilment  of 
prophecies.  I  am  sure  that  were  I  to  ask  my  brother  Parsons  about 
it,  he  would  tell  me  the  truth  about  it,  and  say  that  we  were.  From 
Zechariah  I  read  these  words  :  '  And  the  Word  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
came  unto  me,  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  :  The  fast  of  the 
fourth  month  shall  be  to  the  house  of  Judah  joy  and  gladness  and 
cheerful  feasts  ;  therefore,  love  the  truth  and  peace. '  And  I  said, 
May  we  not  fancy,  at  least,  that  Georgia  is  Judah,  and  Atlanta  its 
Jerusalem  ?  Is  not  this  blossoming,  leafy  month  of  April  our  fourth 
month  ?  and  is  not  this  feast  one  of  joy  and  gladness  to  the  house  of 
Judah  ?  The  very  breezes  which  bear  to  us  the  fragrance  of  field, 
forest,  and  garden,  sing  sweetly  of  joy.  Every  utterance  of  welcome, 
every  hearty  '  God  bless  you,'  thrills  our  hearts  and  yours  with  glad- 


CHURCH   ACTIVITIES.  151 

ness.  And  the  '  cheerful  feasts,'  surely  they  are  to  follow,  in  the 
coming  hours  and  days  of  this  International  Sunday-school  Conven 
tion.  What  feasts  more  cheerful  than  those  of  the  communion  of 
saints  ?  They  are  the  genuine  love-feasts  about  which  the  governor 
and  myself  know  something,  and  you  are  all  to  be  made  as  cheerful 
and  happy  as  the  atmosphere  of  an  old-fashioned  Methodist  love- 
feast,  and  that  is  as  happy  as  you  can  be  here  below.  I  expect  to  see 
you  all  go  away  from  here  not  knowing  exactly  where  you  belong  ! 
Why,  I  even  look  to  see  Dr.  John  Hall  go  back  to  New  York  and  shout 
'  Glory  to  God  !'  in  his  pulpit !  [Great  laughter.]  Well,  it  is  the 
little  child  that  is  leading  us,  and  with  his  little  hands  he  is  beating 
down  the  partition  walls  of  sects  and  creeds.  As  we  here  plan  for 
the  salvation  of  the  children  of  the  nations,  why  should  we  not  shout 
and  go  away  forgetful  almost  of  the  names  that  mark  our  different 
church  relations  ? 

"  Then  Zechariah  said  to  me,  in  the  very  next  verse,  '  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  it  shall  yet  come  to  pass  that  there  shall  come 
people  and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
one  city  shall  go  to  another,  saying,  Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before 
the  Lord,  and  to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts.  I  will  go  also.'  And  hither 
have  come  the  people  and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities,  who,  I 
trust,  have  said  one  to  another,  '  Let  us  go  to  pray  before  the  Lord 
at  Atlanta.'  From  how  many  of  the  fairest  cities  in  our  land  have 
these  inhabitants  come  ?  From  Augusta,  Albany,  and  Atlanta  ;  from 
Boston,  Bangor,  Brooklyn,  Baltimore,  and  Buffalo  ;  from  Chicago, 
Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Columbus,  and  Charleston  ;  Detroit  and  Den 
ver  ;  Indianapolis  and  Louisville  ;  Montreal,  that  beautiful  mount 
of  vision,  Mobile,  Memphis,  Milwaukee,  and  Minneapolis  ;  New  York, 
New  Orleans,  Nashville,  and  Newark  ;  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Prov 
idence  and  Portland  ;  Quebec,  Richmond,  and  Rochester  ;  Savannah, 
St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  Sacramento,  and  St.  Paul  ;  Toronto  and 
Toledo  ;  Wilmington,  Wheeling,  and  Washington  ;  all  these  '  inhab 
itants  '  of  many  earthly  cities  are,  we  trust,  with  faith  looking  as  did 
Abraham,  for  '  a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  maker  and 
builder  is  God.' 

"  And  right  after  that  this  prophet  said  :  '  Yea,  many  people  and 
strong  nations  shall  come  to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts  in  Jerusalem,  and 
to  pray  before  the  Lord.'  And  here  within  your  Jerusalem,  praying 
before  the  Lord,  are,  indeed,  the  representatives  of  strong  nations — 
the  strongest  of  all  nations  in  the  earth  ;  strong,  because  of  their 
adherence  to  liberty  and  truth  [applause]— these  representatives  of 
the  two  great  Protestant  peoples,  here  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  for 


152  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN"   FISK. 

the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  [Applause.]  England,  without  a  peer 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  God  bless  her  !  '  With  all  her  faults,' 
we  love  to  hail  her  as  the  Mother  Land  [great  applause],  and  toss  our 
hats  in  the  air  at  the  sight  of  her  banner,  which  '  for  a  thousand 
years  has  braved  the  battle  and  the  breeze.'  May  the  Union  Jack 
and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  loving  embrace  lead  in  the  march  of 
Christian  civilization  the  wide  world  over.  Heaven  forbid  that  they 
should  ever  be  borne  against  each  other  in  the  smoke  and  flame  of 
conflict.  [Cries  of  Never  !  Never  !]  May  God's  perpetual  bow  of 
peace,  which  spans  the  boiling  floods  of  Niagara,  a  radiant  arch  of 
glory  resting  on  the  shores  of  the  two  lands,  symbolize  our  inter 
national  harmony  and  peace,  until  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall 
be  merged  in  that  better  country,  that  is  an  heavenly  one.  [Yea  ! 

Yea!] 

"  '  Thicker  than  water  in  one  rill, 
Through  centuries  of  story, 
Our  Saxon  blood  has  flowed,  and  still 
We  share  with  you  the  good  and  ill, 
The  shadow  and  the  glory.' 

"  God  bless  our  own,  our  native  land,  stretching  from  the  east  by 
the  sea  to  the  sea  by  the  west.  '  God  give  it  the  glory  of  Lebanon, 
and  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sharon,  and  may  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord  and  the  excellency  of  our  God. 
[Amen,  and  Amen  !]  Be  this 

.    .    .    "  '  Our  glad  refrain  : 
From  the  snows  of  wild  Nevada 

To  the  sounding  woods  of  Maine  ; 
Where  the  Mississippi  wanders, 

Where  the  Alabama  rests, 
Where  the  thunder  shakes  his  turban 

Over  Alleghany's  crest. 

"  '  Where  the  mountains  of  New  England 

Mock  Atlantic's  stormy  main  ; 
Where  God's  palm  imprints  the  prairie 

With  the  type  of  heaven  again  ; 
Where  the  mirrored  morn  is  dawning, 

Link  to  link  our  lakes  along, 
And  California's  golden  gate 

Swings  open  to  the  song.' 

"  We  often  sing 

"  '  Up  with  our  banner  bright, 
Sprinkled  with  starry  light,' 

but  to-day  we  lift  our  eyes  far  above  to  another  and  a  better  ensign 
— the  blessed  banner  of  the  cross — 


CHURCH   ACTIVITIES.  153 

"  'Its  hues  are  all  of  heaven, 
Its  red  the  sunset's  dye, 
The  whitenees  of  the  moonlit  cloud, 
The  blue  of  morning  sky.' 

It  is  red  with  the  blood  of  the  Crucified  One.  It  is  striped  with  the 
fingers  of  G-od's  love  for  our  healing  --the  bright  blue  of  Bethlehem's 
glorious  morning  is  upon  it — with  its  guiding,  shining  star.  Under 
it  we  will  follow  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation  to  certain  victory. 
[Applause.] 

"  And  the  bard  still  continued  to  sing,  and  finally  uttered  to  mo 
this  wonderful  prediction  :  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  those 
days  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold  out  of  all 
languages  of  the  nations,  even  shall  take  hold  of  the  skirt  of  him 
that  is  a  Jew,  saying,  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that 
God  is  with  you. '  Ten  men  taking  hold  out  of  all  languages  of  the 
nations  —venturing  once  more  to  interpret — I  said  surely  these  are 
our  international  lesson  committee  [applause],  the  ten  brethren 
named  at  Indianapolis,  who,  with  their  co-workers  in  the  great 
Sunday-school  cause,  have,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  inaugurated  a 
uniform  lesson  system  which  now  girts  the  world.  They  have  in 
deed  taken  hold  of  many  languages.  The  Sabbath  sun  sets  not  in 
any  Christian  nation  or  mission  field  where  their  leaves  for  the  heal 
ing  of  the  nations  are  not  scattered.  Ethiopia's  dark  people  have 
stretched  out  their  hands  for  them.  China,  with  her  teeming  mill 
ions  ;  vast,  gloomy,  and  gorgeous  India,  and  populous  Japan,  and  the 
islands  oE  the  sea,  listened  with  you  and  me  on  Sabbath  last,  as  the 
golden  text  was  reannounced  by  the  Master,  '  Search  the  Scriptures  : 
.  .  .  they  are  they  which  testify  of  Me.'  It  was  the  inspiring  con 
sciousness  of  a  great  cause,  wide  as  the  world,  and  stretching  through 
all  cycles,  which  enabled  these  brethren,  under  God,  to  record  this 
grand  achievement.  [Applause.] 

"  And  then  the  prophet  closed  his  theme  by  saying  :  *  We  will  go 
with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with  you.'  '  The  best  of  all 
is,  God  is  with  us,'  said  Wesley,  as  he  brushed  the  dew  on  Jordan's 
bank,  and  in  retrospection  saw  what  God  had  wrought.  And  so  may 
we  say,  from  this  happy  beginning  of  our  convention  until  the  last 
benediction  and  good-by  words  shall  be  spoken,  '  The  best  of  all  is, 
God  is  with  us. ' ' ' 

In  1881  the  Ecumenical  Council  was  held  in  London, 
to  which  General  Fisk  went  as  a  delegate.  His  attend 
ance  there  was  appropriate  in  singular  degree,  for  it  was 


154  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN"   FISK. 

at  his  headquarters  in  Nashville,  fifteen  years  earlier, 
that  the  project  of  such  a  council  was  first  discussed. 
His  presence  gave  cheer  and  charm  to  the  unique  gather 
ing,  and  his  words  there,  as  elsewhere,  were  glowing 
with  that  diffusive  charity  which  is  characteristic  of  all 
his  public  and  private  speech. 

It  was  in  1874  that  he  was  made  a  Fraternal  Delegate 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  whose  General 
Conference  assembled  that  year  in  Louisville,  when  for 
the  first  time  in  thirty  years  Northern  and  Southern 
Methodism  exchanged  fraternal  tokens  of  recognition. 
And  the  initial  efforts  to  secure  this  fraternity  were  set 
in  motion  at  General  Fisk's  own  home  in  St.  Louis.  So 
to  him  were  due  a  renewal  of  brotherly  spirit  between 
sectionalities  long  divided  in  ecclesiastical  life,  and  the 
preliminary  steps  toward  entire  Church  brotherhood. 

A  dozen  years  later,  he  exchanged  fraternal  greetings 
with  Southern  Methodist  Episcopal  brethren  at  Rich 
mond,  where  their  General  Conference  gathered  in  the 
Centenary  Church.  It  was  in  May,  1886.  With  his 
own  family,  and  Mr.  Cornell  and  family,  he  was  pro 
ceeding  northward  from  a  trip  farther  South,  and  they 
all  stopped  over  a  day  or  two  to  look  in  upon  the  great 
assemblage  there.  The  regular  fraternal  delegates  from 
the  North  were-  Rev.  Dr.  Miley,  of  Drew  Seminary,  and 
Governor  J.  B.  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  but  Governor  Foraker 
did  not  report  for  duty.  An  immense  audience  assem 
bled,  and  after  Dr.  Miley 's  address  General  Fisk  was 
called  out  from  the  crowd.  They  knew  him,  those  dele 
gates  from  the  field  of  his  efficient  reconstruction  labors. 
They  remembered  how  he  had  restored  their  churches 
to  them  after  war's  work  was  done.  They  recalled  his 
earnest  efforts  to  bring  again  the  sweet  blessings  of 
peace.  They  received  him  with  the  most  tempestuous 


CHURCH   ACTIVITIES.  155 

applause,  as  if  he  had  been  of  their  own  elect.  Over  a 
hundred  old  Confederate  soldiers  and  chaplains  were 
among  the  delegates,  and  they  welcomed  the  Northern 
general  with  a  welcome  he  can  never  forget.  His  im 
promptu  speech  warmed  their  enthusiastic  good  feeling 
to  high  fever  heat,  and  made  the  evening  memorable. 
Near  the  outset  he  jocosely  recalled  a  bit  of  his  own  ex 
perience,  heretofore  related,  by  saying  : 

"lam  greatly  pleased  that  I  have  finally  reached  Richmond.  It 
is  nearly  twenty-five  years  since  I  set  out  for  this  magnificent  capital 
city  of  the  Old  Dominion.  It  was  on  a  bright  July  day  in  1861,  on 
which,  with  several  other  travellers,  I  left  Washington  for  this  city. 
The  Eichmond  Committee  on  Fraternal  Relations  met  me  far  out 
upon  the  way.  Indeed,  they  came  more  than  half  way.  With  banner 
and  band  and  the  booming  of  artillery  they  gave  us  a  warm  recep 
tion.  Indeed,  it  was  a  hot  welcome— so  hot  that  I  retired  on  Wash 
ington  and  countermanded  my  order  to  forward  mail  to  Richmond. 
I  am  more  fortunate  in  this  later  marching  on  Richmond.  Declining 
capture  then,  I  now  find  myself  a  willing  captive  in  your  hands, 
with  not  the  slightest  wish  to  escape." 

Then  he  proceeded  as  follows  to  recognize  their  indi 
vidual  conference  hospitalities  : 

"  Immediately  upon  entering  the  conference  room  yesterday  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  Kentucky  brethren  seated  me  with  the  Blue- 
Grass  delegation.  Dr.  Haygood  secured  for  me  like  honors  with  the 
Georgians.  Brother  Magruder  swung  wide  open  the  doors  to  the 
Baltimore  sittings.  Brother  Scruggs  claimed  me  for  St.  Louis,  and 
the  heartiness  of  a  Missouri  welcome  made  me  at  home  with  the 
friends  and  neighbors  of  the  olden  time.  Meeting  my  young  friend, 
Dr.  M'Ferrin,  he  advised  me  that  I  was  a  delegate-at-large  from  the 
Tennessee  Conference,  and  thus  for  a  second  time  in  your  General 
Conference,  Mr.  President,  I  am  the  victim  of  '  disintegration  and 
absorption. '  Candidates  for  office  will  please  take  note  of  the  num 
ber  of  votes  I  shall  be  entitled  to  cast  when  the  elections  come  on, 
and  have  me  interviewed  accordingly." 

A  little  further  on,  he  said  : 


156  LIFE    OF    CLIXTOK    BOWEtf    FISK. 

"  Mr.  President,  my  eyes  grew  dim,  and  my  heart  swelled  with 
emotions  of  deep  joy  as  you  so  graphically  brought  to  mind  that  glad 
day  at  Louisville,  a  dozen  years  ago,  when  for  the  first  time  in  thirty 
years  we  struck  glad  hands  of  fraternal  fellowship.  It  seems  but 
yesterday  that  you  and  your  associate  bishops  gave  to  my  co-delegates 
and  myself  that  sincere  and  hearty  greeting.  Alas,  how  busy  since 
then  death  has  been  in  our  respective  Episcopal  boards  !  All  of 
yours  as  then  constituted  havo  '  climbed  the  steeps  of  light,'  except 
ing  Bishop  Keener  and  yourself,  and  from  our  board  a  larger  number 
have  ceased  from  labor  and  entered  into  the  rest  eternal.  Paine  and 
Morris,  Kavanaugh  and  Scott,  "Wightman  and  Ames,  Simpson  and 
Pierce,  Marvin  and  Wiley,  are  in  the  shining  city. 

"  Their  united  petitions  invoking  God's  blessing  upon  the  good 
work  then  begun  have  been  answered.  The  seeds  of  fraternity  took 
root  and  have  had  a  fair  growth  There  have  been  some  impatient 
friends  on  both  sides  who  would,  like  children  who  play'at  garden 
ing,  dig  up  the  seed  occasionally,  to  see  why  they  did  not  sprout 
more  promptly.  And  then  there  are  those— and  neither  side  has  a 
monopoly  in  such — who  '  go  mourning  all  their  days '  at  the  very 
thought  of  fraternity.  They  wander  about  in  a  very  small  circle  with 
downcast  eyes,  never  looking  upward  and  outward  upon  the  bright 
and  beautiful  things  of  this  world. 

"  They  remind  me  of  a  story  told  me  by  our  lamented  Dr.  Green, 
whose  genial,  happy  soul  brought  joy  to  every  circle  he  entered. 
When  on  duty  at  Nashville  at  the  close  of  the  war,  in  the  work  of 
reconstruction,  restoration,  and  rebuilding,  Dr.  M'Ferrin  was  my 
chief  of  staff,  and  Dr.  Green  my  senior  aide-de-camp,  in  many  a  time 
of  doubt  as  to  the  best  methods  of  establishing  peace,  harmonious 
relations,  industry,  and  good  order  in  certain  sections  of  my  large 
district,  and  in  which  territory  these  honored  brethren  had  large 
acquaintance.  On  one  occasion  I  had  been  written  to  by  a  man 
prominent  in  his  neighborhood,  who  kindly,  yet  emphatically,  criti 
cised  my  administration.  He  was  fearful  I  was  not  sufficiently  radi 
cal  in  my  views,  and  cautioned  me  against  receiving  advice  from  any 
one  of  the  sort  of  M'Ferrin  and  Green.  I  assured  my  well-meaning 
adviser  that  I  would  exercise  great  care  in  the  discharge  of  my  official 
duties,  but  should  endeavor  to  follow  after  the  things  that  would 
make  for  peace.  Subsequently,  at  an  interview  with  Dr.  Green,  I 
inquired  of  him  touching  the  writing  adviser,  and  the  doctor  said  he 
would  illustrate  by  telling  me  a  story,  as  follows  :  He  said  that  a 
friend  of  his,  a  tanner  by  trade,  who  ground  his  tan-bark  in  a  mill 
run  by  horse-power,  had  a  faithful  old  mule  that  year  after  year  had 


CHUKCH   ACTIVITIES.  157 

made  the  continual  round  and  round  in  furnishing  power  for  the 
bark-mill.  The  kindly -disposed  owner  at  last  thought  it  a  duty  to 
emancipate  the  aged  mule  from  future  active  service.  He  turned 
him  out  into  a  large  royal  pasture  where  he  could  graze  upon  timothy 
and  clover  over  the  wide  range  of  the  extensive  field.  The  old  mule 
surveyed  the  situation,  discussed  the  new  order  of  things  with  him 
self,  and  unanimously  resolved  to  continue  to  abide  within  the  nar 
row  limits  of  an  old-time  tan-bark  circle  he  established  around  a 
stump,  and  there  ended  his  days  going  round  and  round  as  of  old, 
nipping  away  at  the  short  grass,  utterly  refusing  to  enjoy  the  better 
things  provided  for  him. 

"  There  are  men,  so-called  statesmen,  politicians,  and  others,  who 
will  wander  about  in  small  circles,  utterly  oblivious  to  the  mighty 
sweep  of  events  around  them.  Let  us  lift  up  our  eyes,  and  behold 
the  outstretching,  widening  opportunities  for  obedience  to  the  com- 
mand  of  our  divine  Leader  to  carry  the  Gospel  of  peace  and  recon 
ciliation  to  all  mankind  ;  forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind,  let 
us  press  forward. 

"  My  esteemed  friend  and  brother,  J.  B.  Cornell,  who  had  never 
seen  an  old  battle-field  with  its  immense  earthworks  such  as  sur 
rounded  this  fair  city  a  score  and  more  years  ago,  accompanied  me 
out  along  some  of  the  old  lines,  but  how  little  evidence  of  war  he 
found  left !  The  snows  of  twenty  winters  and  the  rains  of  twenty 
summers  had  blotted  out  the  tracks  of  fire  and  sword.  Where  once 
boomed  the  cannon's  thunderous  roar  we  heard  the  tender  notes  of 
life  and  gladness  ;  the  blue-bird  was  singing  sweetly,  and  a  torrent 
of  melody  bubbled  from  the  overflowing  throat  of  the  mocking-bird. 
There,  where  strong  men  strove  and  brave  hearts  bled,  were  bud  and 
blossom,  spangle  and  bloom,  and  busy  bee. 

"  '  And  daily  on  the  slope's  green  breast, 

The  tribes  of  blossoming  things  increase, 
But  dearer  far  than  all  the  rest, 
The  fair  white  flower  whose  name  is  Peace  ; 

"  '  Whose  gracious  leaves  to  heal  the  ills 

Which  sapped  the  nation's  life  are  sent, 
Whose  fragrance  blesses  all  the  hills, 
Whose  fruits  are  Plenty  and  Content.' 

"  Shall  not  all  of  us  take  a  lesson  from  forgiving  nature,  whose 
maternal,  loving  soul  levels  the  earthworks  of  war  and  strews  them 
with  the  flowers  of  peace?" 

Concluding,  General  Fisk  gave  this  comprehensive 
benediction  : 


158  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

1 '  And  now,  Mr.  President,  may  our  two  Methodisms— no,  our  ONE 
Methodism  in  two  communions— march  on  waving  the  barner  of  the 
cross  over  all  lands,  and  so  adjusting  our  work  at  home  and  abroad 
as  to  prevent  all  waste  of  men  and  means,  and  moving  toward  each 
other  as  we  move  toward  God,  we  shall  command  His  blessing,  and 
the  world  will  say  :  '  Surely,  they  are  one  in  spirit,  one  in  purpose, 
one  in  fellowship.'  God  bless  our  united  country  !  May  peace  and 
prosperity  be  within  all  our  borders. 

"  '  Lord  of  the  universe,  shield  us  and  guide  us, 

Trusting  Thee  alway  through  shadow  and  BUD, 
Thou  hast  united  us— who  shall  divide  us  ? 
Keep  us,  O  keep  us,  the  many  in  one.' 

"  '  Then  up  with  our  banner  bright,  sprinkled  with  starry  light, 

Spread  its  fair  emblems  from  mountain  to  shore, 
While  through  the  sounding  sky  loud  rings  the  nation's  cry  : 
4  Union  and  liberty,  one  evermore  ! '  " 


CLINTON  B.  FISK,  Brevet  Major  General. 


BISHOP  HURST  and  CLINTON  B.  FISK 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


CENTENNIAL    SPEECH    UPON    MISSIONS. 

SIXTEEN  months  before  the  occasion  last  referred  to, 
there  was  a  greater  Methodist  assemblage  at  Baltimore 
— in  December,  1884 — the  Centennial  Methodist  Confer 
ence.  It  also  abounded  in  fraternity  of  spirit.  Dele 
gates  came  from  the  entire  continent,  and  met  in  the 
exuberance  of  denominational  joy.  The  Address  on 
Missions  was  delivered  by  General  Fisk,  and  so  thor 
oughly  did  it  exemplify  his  religious  ardor  and  his  church 
zeal,  that  it  is  here  reproduced  in  full  : 

"  In  the  great  procession  of  events,  in  the  mighty  march  of  time, 
the  centennial  birth  year  of  Episcopal  Methodism  wheels  into  line. 
We  the  people  called  Methodists  coming  from  every  quarter  of  the 
continent  here  strike  glad  hands  of  fellowship  and  lift  our  voices  with 
one  accord  to  heaven  in  grateful  benisons  to  the  great  Disposer  of 
events  as  we  gather  around  the  cradle  in  which  was  rocked  our  infant 
church.  The  century  plant  of  Wesleyan  American  Methodism  is 
bursting  into  magnificent  blossom,  filling  all  the  land  with  its  light 
and  fragrance  in  this  Christmastide  of  1884. 

"  Not  only  in  this  goodly  city  of  Baltimore,  rich  in  its  possession 
of  Lovely  Lane,  is  this  glad  day  remembered  with  devout  thanks 
giving  and  joy,  but  in  nearly  every  city,  town,  village,  and  hamlet  on 
the  continent,  our  brethren  are  rejoicing  with  us.  In  the  lonely  and 
remote  places  where  the  woodman  swings  his  axe  in  wintry  forests, 
down  where  the  miner  rends  the  rocks  that  stand  as  sentinels  over 
the  precious  veins,  out  on  the  boundless  prairies,  kissed  by  the  golden 
sunset,  where  the  herdsmen  round  up  for  the  night,  on  the  ocean 
wave,  where  the  ships  bear  our  people  '  over  the  sea,'  this  day  will 
have  recognition.  London  will  rejoice  with  Baltimore  as  it  remem 
bers  the  precious  dust  at  City  Koad  and  retrospects  the  century — 
under  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican— among  the  ruins 


1GO  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK   BOWEtf   FISK. 

which  proclaim  and  prolong  the  majesty  of  ancient  Rome— on  the 
dark  continent  from  which  the  pall  of  barbarism  is  lifting— in  the 
land  of  the  midnight  sun,  amid  Alpine  passes — on  the  banks  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Rhine — on  India's  coral  strand — in  the  empire 
whose  high  thick  walls  could  not  keep  out  the  itinerant— in  the 
nation  born  in  a  day— in  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas,  and  along  the 
great  rivers  of  our  Southern  continent,  there  are  devout  and  happy 
Methodists  who  have  part  and  place  with  us  in  this  jubilee  of  our 
history,  and  who  with  us,  believing  in  Christ's  all-embracing  empire, 
take  up  the  song,  echoing  the  wide  world  around  : 

"  '  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 

Does  his  successive  journeys  run, 
His  kingdom  spread  from  shore  to  shore, 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more.' 

It  is,  indeed,  befitting  that  at  the  threshold  of  this  feast  of  the  cen 
tury,  we  devote  an  hour  to  the  consideration  of  missions,  the  supreme 
cause  of  the  church. 

"  It  was  a  glad  day  for  the  world  when  American  Methodism  took 
its  place  in  the  system  of  universal  evangelization  as  an  independent 
church.  It  was  in  its  organization  essentially  a  missionary  scheme. 
That  marvellous  man  who  stood  godfather  at  the  baptism  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  the  founder  of  missions,  and  of  and 
about  Thomas  Coke  we  might  talk  out  this  centennial  year.  His 
memoirs  should  this  month  be  read  aloud  in  the  presence  of  father, 
mother,  and  children  in  every  Methodist  family  on  the  continent. 
In  travel  and  preaching  he  became  as  indefatigable  as  Wesley  or 
Whitfield.  The  historian  aptly  gives  him  the  title  of  the  '  Foreign 
Minister '  of  Methodism.  He  crossed  the  Atlantic  eighteen  times  on 
slowly-sailing  vessels,  on  Gospel  errands.  Of  affluent  fortune,  he 
cast  it  all  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord,  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
cause  of  Christ.  At  threescore  and  ten  he  died  and  was  buried  in 
the  great  sea  on  the  bosom  of  which  he  was  sailing  to  found  a  mission 
in  India.  The  sea  washing  all  shores  is  his  monument.  This  great 
missionary,  with  his  companions  Vasey  and  Whatcoat,  upon  all  of 
whose  heads  had  rested  the  hand  of  John  Wesley  in  consecration, 
had  been  duly  equipped,  set  apart  and  dismissed  from  the  shores  of 
England  for  the  great  embassy  of  organizing  Methodism  on  an  inde 
pendent  basis  in  America.  They  found  Francis  Asburyand  his  four 
score  associate  Methodist  preachers  were  all  missionaries,  and  all 
eager  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  church  through  whose  agency  the 
Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  should  keep  pace  with  the  growth 
of  the  young  Republic.  The  last  British  sentry  in  the  war  o-'  t*ae 


CENTENNIAL   SPEECH   UPON   MISSIONS.  161 

Revolution  had  left  his  post,  and  gone  home,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  of 
American  Independence  floated  where  had  waved  the  imperial  stand 
ard  of  England.  National  America  had  taken  the  place  of  Colonial 
America.  Washington  was  the  builder  of  the  new  Republic.  Asbury, 
contemporaneously,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  laid  broad  and  deep 
the  foundations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States.  The  temptation  to  linger  amid  the  attractions  of  those  new 
days  for  the  church  and  nation  is  almost  irresistible  ;  to  review  the 
toils  and  triumphs  of  the  fathers  ;  to  tramp  with  the  happy  itinerant 
as  he  made  the  '  grand  rounds  '  along  the  picket  lines  and  vanguard 
of  the  march  of  civilization,  over  the  mountains  into  the  great  and 
terrible  wilderness  where  the  wild  beasts  disputed  occupancy  with 
the  wilder  tribes  of  savage  man.  Anywhere  and  everywhere  the 
Methodist  preacher,  in  cheerful  obedience  to  the  call  of  duty,  and 
the  demands  of  the  church  he  loved,  went  shouting  and  singing  as 
through  forest  and  field  he  rode  the  illimitable  circuit  : 

"  '  O,  for  a  trumpet  voice, 

On  all  the  world  to  call, 
To  bid  them  all  rejoice 

In  Him  who  died  for  all. 
For  all  my  Lord  was  crucified, 
For  all,  for  all,  my  Saviour  died.' 

Every  man  of  them,  from  Bishop  Asbury  down,  was  an  organized  mis 
sionary  society  in  himself,  and  filled  with  the  spirit  of  an  intense 
evangelism.  Under  men  of  God  thus  equipped,  armed  with  weapons 
not  shaped  by  mortal  skill,  strong-souled,  earnest  men,  knights  of 
the  true  order  of  Jesus  leagued  in  solemn  covenant,  American  Meth 
odism  grew  mightily  and  prevailed. 

"  The  Christmas  Conference  in  Lovely  Lane  Chapel,  one  hundred 
years  ago,  sent  out  the  first  missionary  from  America  to  foreign  lands. 
The  soul  of  Bishop  Coke  was  inspired  by  the  earnest  appeal  of  Will 
iam  Black,  who  had  made  a  long  and  perilous  journey  to  be  present 
at  the  conference,  and  there  plead  that  the  newly-established  Meth 
odist  Church  should  send  men  and  money  to  the  then  far-away  re 
gion  of  Nova  Scotia.  Two  missionaries  were  solemnly  set  apart 
from  the  scanty  list  at  Lovely  Lane  to  accompany  William  Black  to 
Halifax,  and  the  grace  of  God,  bestowed  on  the  members  of  the  con 
ference  as  upon  the  churches  of  Macedonia,  so  inspired  the  preachers 
that  the  '  abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded 
unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality, '  and  the  first  missionary  collection 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  taken  up  in  Lovely  Lane. 
TWO  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  in  the  depreciated  currency  of  1784, 


163  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

was  the  initial  offering  of  our  church  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in 
other  lands.  That  sum  was  transferred  into  thirty  pounds  sterling 
for  use  in  the  dominion  of  George  the  Third.  Thus  were  inaugurated 
the  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  first 
week  of  its  history,  and  one  of  its  choicest  spirits  was  spared  from 
the  imperative  demands  of  the  Home  Work  to  bear  Gospel  tidings  to 
the  regions  beyond.  Freeborn  Garretson,  the  brave  and  brotherly 
soul,  distressingly  self  diffident  yet  full  of  fiery  heroism,  and  of  whom 
Asbury  said,  '  he  will  let  no  person  escape  a  lecture  that  comes  in  his 
way,'  and  whose  wise,  rare  gifts  of  grace  and  culture  made  him  a  fit 
leader  of  men — who  had  in  the  six  weeks  immediately  preceding  the 
opening  of  the  Christmas  Conference  travelled  twelve  hundred  miles, 
traversing  the  forests,  swimming  the  rivers,  preaching,  shouting,  and 
singing  on  his  way  to  summon  the  preachers  from  their  circuits  to 
the  conference— was  the  first  volunteer  to  go  out  as  a  missionary  to 
a  foreign  field,  saying  then  in  his  heart,  to  the  Mother  Land  from 
whom  the  colonies  had  been  wrested  by  the  bloody  arbitrament  of 
war,  what  we  now,  after  a  century's  lapse,  most  heartily  say,  as  we 
contemplate  the  relations  of  amity  between  these  two  great  English- 
speaking  peoples,  and  which  every  interest  of  mankind  imperatively 
demands  shall  continue  forever. 

"  The  cause  of  missions  was  not  new  to  the  saintly  men  who  sat 
in  Lovely  Lane  Chapel.  They  had  all  been  students  of  the  sure  word 
of  prophecy.  They  knew  it  was  as  old  as  the  hour  when  the  Master 
led  the  wondering  disciples  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany.  They  had  heard 
the  divine  commission,  as  it  came  thimdering  down  the  roll  of  the 
centuries,  speaking  into  existence  the  first  Missionary  Society,  in  the 
words  :  '  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature. '  The  steadfast  mortals,  beholding  His  ascension  to  the  right 
hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty  were  with  us,  and  all  who  believe 
in  that  Name  above  every  name,  summoned  as  witnesses  for  Him  in 
Jerusalem,  in  all  Judea,  in  Samaria,  in  gloomy  and  gorgeous  India,  in 
Ethiopia,  with  its  dark  nations,  among  the  teeming  millions  in 
China,  in  populous  Japan,  and  everywhere  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth.  *  That  commandment  of  our  ascended  Saviour,'  says 
James  Montgomery,  is  '  the  Magna  Charta  of  salvation  to  all  the 
fallen  race  of  man.'  It  has  never  been  restricted  or  repealed,  and  it 
never  will  be  until  all  things  are  fulfilled  which  are  written  in  the  law 
of  Moses  and  in  the  prophets  and  in  the  psalms  concerning  Christ. 
The  hopes  of  the  world  and  the  everlasting  destinies  of  the  human 
family  are  involved  in  the  measure  of  the  church's  obedience  to  (\z 
great  commission. 


CENTENNIAL   SPEECH    "UPON   MISSIONS.  163 

"  The  prayerful  counsels,  the  sacramental  solemnities,  the  liberal 
devisings,  the  harmony  of  thought  and  speech,  the  merging  and  ab 
sorption  of  all  distinctions  in  the  immortal  gathering  we  celebrate, 
was  like  to  that  rare  and  sacred  fellowship  of  the  disciples,  in  the 
'  Jerusalem  chamber,'  who  were  all  of  one  heart  and  one  mind  as 
they  there  believed  and  prayed  and  waited  the  pentecostal  hour  with 
one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication  until  the  tongues  of  fire  ap 
peared.  They  believed  that  no  church  could  be  a  successful  mis 
sionary  church,  that  no  man  could  be  a  successful  missionary,  till 
clothed  with  power  from  on  high,  and  made  fit  to  be  co-workers  with 
Him.  They  believed  and  taught  that  the  real  test  of  Christian 
Church  and  Christian  character  is  the  proclamation  aggressively  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  entire  world.  '  The  Gospel  for  all  mankind  '  was 
early  inscribed  on  the  banners  of  American  Methodism,  and  its  colors 
have  never  been  furled.  We  this  day  lift  our  voices  in  glad  acclaim 
with  the  Psalmist's  outburst  of  song  :  '  Thou  hast  given  a  banner  to 
them  that  fear  Thee,  that  it  may  be  displayed  because  of  the 
truth.' 

"  Let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  outcome  of  missionary  work 
among  the  constituent  Methodisms  of  this  centennial  commemora 
tion.  All  Methodists  on  the  American  Continent  ought  to  be  repre 
sented  on  this  glad  occasion,  in  this  great  family  gathering,  as  we  sit 
down  at  the  centennial  Thanksgiving  feast  and  talk  over  '  old  times. ' 
Here  we  are  not  a  divided  host  —as  for  me  I  am  simply  a  Methodist, 
and  I  greet  you  as  Methodists,  pure  and  simple,  with  no  qualifying 
adjective  thereto  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining — Methodism 
without  a  handle.  Let  every  partition  wall  be  here  broken  down,  each 
rejoicing  in  the  progress  of  the  other,  and  shouting  over  victories 
won  for  the  Master  under  our  common  banner — forgetful  of  minor 
differences  in  the  one  grand  brotherhood  of  faith  in  Christ.  We  give 
heed  to  the  apostle  as  he  implores  us  as  he  did  those  of  Corinth. 
'  Now,  I  beseech  you  brethren  by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  ye  all  speak  the  same  thing,  and  that  there  be  no  division  among 
you,  but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and 
in  the  same  judgment, '  and  no  discordant  note  disturb  the  harmony 
of  soul  and  song  as  we  lift  our  grateful  voices  and  sing, 

"  '  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love. ' 

"  When  our  organized  Methodism  entered  upon  its  new  and  mag 
nificent  destiny  at  the  adjournment  of  the  Christmas  Conference,  it 
stepped  over  the  threshold  of  its  first  century  with  a  membership  of 


164  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

about  15,000,  and  an  itinerant  ministry  numbering  84.  As  the  silent 
footfalls  of  that  century  are  passing  out  into  eternity,  the  roll  of  our 
living  membership  records  more  than  4,000,000,  our  itinerant  ministry 
27,500  and  local  preachers  36,500.  We  have  no  figures  to  express 
'  The  army  of  the  ransomed  saints  '  who  have  gone  thronging  up  the 
steps  of  light  from  Methodist  homes  as  the  hundred  years  have  rolled 
away,  and  are  with  that  multitude  that  no  man  can  number.  They 
are  to-night  among  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses.  A  very  large  per 
centage  of  those  results  has  been  attained  through  the  domestic 
missions  of  the  Methodists. 

"  The  total  sums  of  money  gathered  into  our  missionary  treasuries 
for  home  and  foreign  work  aggregate  about  $30,000,000.  This  sum 
has  been  disbursed  in  nearly  equal  proportions  in  these  two  depart 
rnents  of  Christian  endeavor.  Methodism  on  this  continent  has  sue 
cessful  missions  the  wide  world  around.  Its  missionaries,  male  anc 
female,  and  native  helpers,  supplemented  by  those  serving  on  its  medfc. 
cal  and  educational  staff,  rank  among  the  first  in  aggressive,  evan 
gelistic  force. 

"  Its  churches,  hospitals,  asylums,  and  schools  are  in  every  and  all 
lands  on  the  globe.  The  aggregate  disbursements  on  account  of 
missions,  under  Methodist  management,  in  the  year  1884,  will  be 
about  $1,500,000. 

"  While  with  profound  gratitude  we  study  these  statistics  of  Meth 
odist  Missions,  and  the  first  impulse  is  to  say,  '  Well  done,'  on  a  re 
view  of  the  exhibit,  and  a  glance  outward  upon  the  great  world,  with 
its  imperative  demands,  and  inward  upon  the  vast  resources  of  the 
church  withheld  from  Him  whose  right  it  is  to  possess  them,  we  are 
led  to  ask,  How  do  they  appear  as  tests  of  Christian  character  ?  As 
illustrating  the  measure  of  our  love  for  God  and  our  fellow-men"?  As 
exhibits  of  the  church's  loyalty  to  Christ?  As  we  step  over  the 
threshold  of  the  new  century  let  us  ask  ourselves  if  we  are  quite 
ready  to  have  this  exhibit  abide  as  our  permanent  record  ?  Shall  we 
not  rather  say,  This  is  but  a  beginning?  In  the  ordering  of  Provi 
dence  and  of  grace,  upon  this  meeting-place  of  the  ages,  as  upon  no 
other  era  since  John  fell  asleep  under  the  purple  skies  of  Ephesus, 
is  placed  the  sublime  duty  of  the  world's  evangelization.  The  per 
manent  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  waiting  to  be  brought 
in.  It  waits  the  completeness  of  the  church's  consecration.  Con 
secrated  men  and  consecrated  money,  humanly  speaking,  are  all  that 
is  needed  to  give  the  Gospel  to  all  mankind  in  the  near  future.  The 
world  has  opened  every  door  to  the  coming  of  the  Christian  mis 
sionary  ;  and  the  voice  of  Providence,  like  the  trumpet  of  destiny, 


CENTENNIAL   SPEECH    UPOtf   MISSIONS.  165 

summons  tis  to  the  great  duty  of  entering  in  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Master  set  up  our  banners. 

"  The  conquest  of  the  world  for  Christ  need  not  be  a  '  far  off  divine 
event,  if  the  great  host  of  Christian  believers  in  this  and  other  lands 
would  believe  with  greater  faith,  and  rally  the  forces  that  wait  their 
command  for  the  final  march  and  fight  and  victory.  Christian 
America's  corps  in  that  grand  army  falls  into  line  where  '  Messiah's 
hosts  are  marshalling. '  American  Methodism,  with  its  flying  troops, 
always  on  the  skirmish  line,  makes  hot  the  hand-to-hand  conflict 
with  the  forces  of  evil  always  in  battle  array  and  to  our  feeble  sense 
a  phalanx  never  to  be  broken.  At  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  Lord 
Nelson  divided  his  fleet  into  two  portions,  himself  leading  one  and 
the  brave  Collingwood  the  other.  Collingwood  was  in  the  ship  '  Royal 
Sovereign,'  the  fastest  ship  in  the  fleet,  and  spreading  all  sail,  he  soon 
placed  himself  a  mile  or  two  in  advance  of  Nelson,  but  instead  of 
waiting  until  he  came  up,  he  dashed  forthwith  into  the  fray  and 
alone  challenged  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and  Spain.  Nelson, 
watching  his  trusted  lieutenant,  exclaimed  to  those  about  him, '  See 
that  gallant  fellow,  how  eagerly  he  takes  his  ship  into  action.'  Col 
lingwood,  as  the  smoke  and  flame  of  battle  surrounded  him,  said, 
'  What  would  Nelson  give  to  be  here,  the  first  to  break  the  line  ?' 
Our  Methodism  must  eagerly  take  the  front  and  lead  on  to  victory. 
'  Forward  ! '  rings  along  the  line,  and 

"  '  With  lifted  sword  and  waving  crest 
Our  Captain  leads  to  conquering.' 

Not  to  a  possible  triumph.  Possible  is  not  the  word.  The  Father  hath 
said  to  the  Son  :  '  He  shall  have  the  heathen  for  His  inheritance  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  His  possessions.'  When  the  de 
sign  for  the  first  crusade  to  recover  the  holy  sepulchre  by  force  of 
arms  was  unfolded,  the  assembled  multitudes  of  many  nations  si 
multaneously  exclaimed,  '  God  wills  it, '  and  the  leader  of  the  crusade, 
seizing  upon  the  word,  responded,  Let  that  be  the  battle-cry  ;  let 
the  army  of  the  Lord,  as  it  rushes  upon  its  enemies,  shout  but  that 
one  rallying  cry,  '  God  wills  it.' 

"  The  evangelization  of  the  heathen  is  the  great  work  devolving 
upon  the  Church  of  Christ.  Eight  hundred  millions  of  our  race  are 
this  hour  bowing  down  to  idols  and  dishonoring  the  Most  High  by 
rites  and  ceremonies  which  are  a  smoke  in  His  nostrils.  Our 
lamented  Bishop  Pierce,  upon  whose  new-made  grave,  under  the 
sunshine  of  Georgia,  the  earth  is  yet  fresh,  the  music  of  whose  voice 
we  had  fondly  hoped  to  hear  this  day  speaking  to  us  the  words  of 


166  LIFE  OF  CLINTON   BOWEK  FISK. 

life,  and  who  was  welcomed  on  the  shining  shore  by  our  Bishop 
Simpson,  the  loved  and  honored  and  trusted  ;  these  two  great  bishops, 
leaders  of  God's  sacramental  hosts,  for  whom  there  is  the  ceaseless 
longing 

"'  Oh  for  a  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still,' 

we  enthrone  them  in  our  hearts  with  double  honor  ;  they  sowed  the 
seed  of  which  the  harvest  waveth  now. 

"  '  They  taught  us  how  to  live,  and  oh,  too  high 
A  price  for  knowledge,  taught  us  how  to  die.' 

From  the  glory-illumed  battlements  of  immortality  do  they  look 
down  and  enjoy  the  feast  of  vision  ?  Bishop  Pierce,  in  one  of  his 
masterly  appeals  in  behalf  of  missions,  said,  with  burning  eloquence  : 
'  The  question  is  not  whether  the  heathen  can  be  saved  without  our 
help,  but  whether  we  will  be  saved  unless  we  help  the  heathen  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  true  God.' 

"  Oh  for  a  missionary  revival,  beginning  from  this  centennial  love- 
feast,  that  shall  sweep  throughout  our  continental  Methodism,  lead 
ing  to  thorough  missionary  consecration  that  will  subsoil  our  ability 
to  work  and  to  give  !  Oh  for  a  divine  spiritual  anointing,  in  measure 
abundant  and  overflowing,  descending  upon  bishops  and  pastors  and 
churches  ;  upon  the  missionaries  who  stand  in  the  regions  beyond, 
preaching  Jesus  and  the  resurrection — upon  all  who  teach — upon  the 
noble  Christian  women  of  Methodism,  who  labor  so  efficiently  in  the 
Gospel  of  the  Kingdom — upon  our  Sunday-schools,  that  they  may 
give  us  a  generation  of  loyal,  hearty,  generous,  and  cheerful  givers  to 
this  supreme  cause. 

"  Not  less  than  five  millions  of  dollars  per  annum  should  be  cheer 
fully  cast  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  for  disbursement  through  our 
Methodist  Missionary  Societies,  a  paltry  sum  for  four  millions  of 
Methodists,  whose  are  the  abundance  of  the  seas,  the  forces  of  the 
Gentiles,  the  flocks  of  Kedar,  the  glory  of  Lebanon,  and  the  gold  of 
Sheba,  and  in  our  hands  to  be  blent  in  one  tribute  and  cast  at  the 
feet  of  the  Master. 

"  Brightly  breaks  the  morning  of  the  new  century.  Already  we 
hear  'a  sound  of  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry  trees,'  and 
we  must  bestir  ourselves.  That  glad  crisis  in  the  world's  history 
when  its  kingdom  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  His 
Church,  is  not  far  off,  if  the  resources  of  the  church,  rich  in  men  and 
means,  in  brain  power,  heart  power,  hand  power,  and  money  power, 
quickened  by  the  life  force  from  heaven,  shall  be  consecrated  to  God. 


CENTENNIAL  SPEECH   UPON   MISSIONS.  16? 

"  The  century  closing  has  in  its  last  decades  witnessed  the  forward 
movement  of  man  toward  the  complete  mastery  of  the  material  world. 
He  is  harnessing  the  forces  of  nature  to  the  chariot  in  which  shall 
ride  the  Son  of  Man  with  the  millennial  escort.  How  measureless  are 
the  triumphs  of  steam  and  electricity  I  The  fiery  steed  of  steaRi, 
whose  breath  is  flame,  whose  sinews  are  brass  and  steel,  whose  neck 
is  clothed  with  thunder,  whose  '  eyes  are  as  the  eyelids  of  the  morn 
ing,  '  whose  hoofs  are  iron — in  speed  outracing  the  wind  as  he  goes 
storming  through  valleys,  through  and  over  the  mountains,  leaping 
rivers,  onward  rushing  across  whole  continents,  whose  every  whistle  is 
a  hallelujah  to  Him  who  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  hath  said  that 
every  valley  should  be  exalted,  every  mountain  be  brought  low,  and 
the  crooked  places  be  made  straight.  The  very  floods  clap  their 
hands  as  the  leviathan  steamships,  without  sail  or  oar,  '  despite 
wind,  darkness,  tide,  or  tempest,  straight  as  the  arrow  in  its  flight, 
seek  the  other  side  of  the  world  on  errands  of  commerce  and  civiliza 
tion.'  That  marvellous  combination  of  mind  and  metal,  the  steam 
printing-press,  with  its  myriad-tongued  utterances  and  mission  of 
thought  to  the  world  with  every  rising  sun  and  at  the  going  down 
thereof  !  The  electric  telegraph,  connecting  land  and  sea,  the  great 
globe  around,  into  a  wondrous  whispering  gallery  !  The  telephone, 
which  with  the  speed  of  thought  carries  the  living  voice  leagues  of 
miles  away  !  The  photograph,  painting  pictures  with  light  «and 
'  enabling  all  the  world  to  see  all  the  world  ! '  The  photophone, 
vocalizing  light !  The  megaphone,  realizing  the  conceit  of  the  old 
Norse  legend  of  ability  to  hear  the  grass  grow  !  The  lightning  of 
heaven,  subsidized  to  illumine  our  cities  and  haul  our  carriages  ! 
The  spectroscope,  with  which  we  are  almost  enabled  to  loose  the 
hands  of  Orion  and  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades  !  All 
these,  born  in  the  century  now  closing,  as  so  well  said  by  good 
Dr.  Post,  of  St.  Louis,  are  ministrant  to  the  advancing  kingdom 
of  God — '  This  is  the  Lord's  doings,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our 
eyes.' 

"  The  new  century  is  before  us,  with  its  grander  work,  with  its  nobler 
heroism  and  its  assured  conquests.  The  chaste,  sweet  singer  of 
Cambridge,  whose  '  Psalm  of  Life  '  made  him  immortal,  with  pro 
phetic  sweep  of  vision,  as  the  morning  eternal  was  dawning  upon  him, 
discerned  the  coming  glory,  when,  seizing  his  pen  for  the  last  time, 
he  wrote  his  final  words  of  inspiration  : 

"  '  Out  of  the  shadows  of  night 
The  world  rolls  into  light, 
It  in  daybreak  everywhere.1 


168  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEK   FISK. 

We  may  not  be  among  those  who  on  earth  shall  be  permitted  to 
shout  '  Hallelujah,  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth  ! '  in  that 
rejoicing  day  when  He  who  for  the  salvation  of  a  lost  world  stooped 
to  the  unutterable  sacrifice  of  Bethlehem  and  Calvary,  and  who  will 
not  fail  nor  be  discouraged  until  He  hath  set  judgment  in  the  midst  of 
the  earth  and  the  thronging  isles  of  this  world  are  waiting  in  submis 
sion  for  His  law  ;  but  by  the  word  of  our  testimony,  in  consecrated 
lives  and  gifts,  and  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  we  may  be  numbered 
with  those  who  helped  to  overcome  the  dragon,  and  the  accuser  of 
our  brethren,  and  other  somebodies  will  send  up  from  earth  that  glad 
acclaim.  It  is  for  us  and  our  children  to  work,  and  believe,  and 
pray,  and  give,  until  every  coast  shall  be  peopled  by  sincere  wor 
shippers  and  lovers  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  until  every  mountain 
barrier  shall  be  overcome,  until  every  abyss  shall  be  spanned,  for  the 
uninterrupted  progress  of  the  King's  highway  of  holiness,  and  the 
people  of  the  earth  shall  flow  together  as  in  the  prophetic  vision  to 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  ;  until  the  fires  of  sin  are  every 
where  extinguished,  and  the  pure  light  of  holiness  shall  be  every 
where  enkindled  ;  until  every  idol  is  abolished,  until  every  father 
becomes  a  high  priest  in  his  own  household,  offering  the  daily  sacri 
fice  of  prayer  and  praise,  and  every  mother  shall  teach  her  infant 
charge  to  lisp  the  name  of  Jesus  ;  until  religion,  pure  and  un defiled, 
shall  conserve  all  people  as  virtue  conserves  the  soul  ;  until  the 
infinite  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  renew  and  sanctify  shall  be  veri 
fied  by  the  experience  of  every  dweller  on  this  earth.  Until  the 
world  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea  ;  until  there  shall  be  but  one  story  that  every 
child  shall  lisp,  one  memory  that  every  nation  shall  cherish,  one 
Name  that  shall  be  above  every  name  !  Let  it  be  the  covenant  work 
of  our  Methodism  to  hasten  that  glad  day  !  and  may  the  entire 
church,  in  all  its  revolving  cycles  of  history,  unceasingly  have  for  its 
inspiration  that  blessed  assurance  which  gave  to  our  dying  founder 
such  consolation,  when  the  everlasting  sunrise  burst  in  upon  failing 
heart  and  flesh — '  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

PARTY    AND    PROHIBITION. 

IT  has  been  seen  that  General  Fisk's  early  political  pre 
dilections  were  all  of  the  old-fashioned  abolitionist  sort. 
The  first  Presidential  ticket  he  could  vote  for  was  nom 
inated  in  1852,  and  he  then  had  rather  more  sympathy 
with  the  Democrats  than  with  the  "Whigs.  On  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery  there  seemed  little  reason  for  choice  be 
tween  them  at  that  time.  The  Democrats  had  nomi 
nated  Pierce  and  King,  and  were  pledged  to  the  Com 
promise  of  1850,  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  against 
all  anti-slavery  agitation.  The  Whigs  had  also  indorsed 
the  Compromise  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  had 
nominated  Scott  and  Graham.  The  only  party  opposed 
to  slavery,  in  positive  terms  and  purpose,  was  the  Free 
Soil  Democratic. 

Locally,  the  Democrats  in  Southern  Michigan  were 
nearer  right  than  any  others.  They  stood  straight  up 
for  temperance,  and  voted  solid  for  the  "  Maine  Law." 
General  Fisk  usually  acted  with  them,  but  often  voted 
for  the  best  man,  regardless  of  his  party  nomination, 
always  making  abolition  sentiments  the  final  test  of  a 
nominee.  When  he  ran  for  Justice  of  the  Peace  on  a 
"  Maine  Law  "  ticket,  as  has  heretofore  been  related, 
his  opponent  was  George  A.  Coe,  who  had  been  a  Whig 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Michigan. 

In  1856  General  Fisk  cast  his  ballot  for  John  C. 
Fremont.  In  1860  his  political  surroundings  were  all 
Democratic,  but  of  a  divided  faith.  The  Douglas 


170  LIFE   OF   CLINTOH   BOWEN"   FlSK. 

Democracy  and  the  Breckinridge  Democracy  were  con 
tending  for  rulership,  the  latter  Pro-Slavery  to  the  core, 
the  former  seeking  to  evade  all  responsibility  on  that 
issue.  Many  Northern  people  in  Missouri  sided  with 
Douglas,  and  were  inclined  to  support  him  and  Herschel 
Y.  Johnson  ;  but,  as  the  campaign  went  forward  radical 
feeling  deepened,  and  they  came  into  full  Republican 
alliance.  Mr.  Fisk  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  come  out 
boldly  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  for  whom  he  wrote,  and 
spoke,  and  voted  ;  and  from  that  year  till  1884  he  was 
known  as  a  faithful  Republican  adherent,  bearing  its 
banner  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  he  had  felt  when  a 
boy  bearing  the  Birney  flag. 

It  was  no  light  matter  for  General  Fisk  to  leave  the 
Republican  ranks,  or  to  think  of  leaving  them.  Repub 
licanism  had  meant  for  him,  as  for  the  country  at  large, 
liberty  and  union,  national  perpetuity,  and  the  progress 
of  civilization.  The  living  chiefs  of  the  Republican 
party  were  his  personal  friends,  as  had  been  the  great 
ones  gone — Lincoln,  Seward,  Stanton,  and  the  rest.  His 
nearest  church  friendships  were  among  those  who  cher 
ished  Republican  memories,  and  held  the  success  of  that 
party  only  less  dear  than  the  upbuilding  of  Christ's 
kingdom  in  the  earth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  scores 
whom  he  honored,  and  who  honored  and  trusted  him — 
bishops,  and  teachers,  and  preachers,  widely  influential, 
and  conscientious  as  himself — regarded  the  steady  dom 
ination  of  Republican  power  essential  to  religious  growth, 
to  national  safety,  and  to  the  permanence  of  freedom  for 
those  once  enslaved.  Grave  problems  of  race  relation 
still  confronted  statesmanship  and  must  be  wrought  out. 
The  struggle  for  equal  rights  was  not  yet  ended.  And 
who  should  solve  the  problems,  and  finish  the  struggle 
as  God  might  will,  but  the  Republican  Party  ? 


PARTY   AND    PROHIBITION,  171 

So  queried  thousands  of  the  purest  patriots  our  country 
knew,  through  years  and  months  preceding  the  Presi 
dential  campaign  of  1884.  So  queried  General  Fisk. 
But  he  and  they  were  deeply  concerned  about  one  other 
and  more  vital  question,  which  the  -Republican  Party 
had  not  taken  up  in  a  national  way,  and  which  was 
growing  to  be,  if,  indeed,  it  had  not  already  become, 
a  national  question.  The  organized  liquor  traffic  was 
bullying  Congress,  shaping  the  national  revenue  policy, 
preventing  a  Commission  of  Inquiry  to  investigate  its 
national  effects,  electing  candidates  for  highest  office, 
overriding  State  boundaries  of  Prohibition,  compelling 
Government  officials  to  bow  to  its  behests  ;  and  this 
organized  liquor  traffic,  lacking  conscience,  lacking 
patriotism,  loyal  only  to  greed,  caring  not  for  Christi 
anity,  heedless  of  home  and  happiness  and  human  weal, 
had  forced  the  issue  of  its  Prohibition  into  national 
politics,  and  had  made  the  final  settlement  thereof  pos 
sible  there  alone.  In  the  minds  of  many  this  final  settle 
ment  must  be  entered  upon,  in  that  broad  domain,  with 
out  further  delay. 

But  what  a  sundering  it  meant  of  old  ties,  dear  even 
as  the  love  of  one's  own  kin  !  And  how  men  paused, 
and  wondered  if  to  forsake  the  old  party  were  not  unwise 
— even  wicked  !  How  partisanship  bound  the  best  and 
truest  souls  to  association  grown  hateful  through  liquor 
compromise  and  indifference  to  the  enforcement  of  law  ! 

The  marvel,  when  one  ponders  it  a  little,  is  that  men 
can  come  to  love  so  much  a  thing  so  intangible  and 
unresponsive  as  a  political  party.  Precisely  what  they 
love,  and  upon  which  they  bestow  such  unsparing  devo 
tion,  no  chemical  or  logical  analysis  can  find  out.  Sans  a 
creed,  that  is  fixed  and  final  ;  sans  an  organic  form,  that 
takes  fixed  and  final  mould  ;  sans  a  local  habitation, 


172  LIFE  OF  CLINTON  BO  WEN  FISK. 

where  it  can  be  found,  and  in  which  there  is  something 
actual  and  tangible  to  find  ;  the  political  party  quite 
eludes  that  analysis  which  would  reveal  an  object  of  love 
or  hate,  and  shows  at  most  but  an  adjective,  around 
which  men  have  rallied  with  varying  motive — some  to 
defend  a  principle  they  believe  represented  by  it ;  some 
to  secure  honors  and  emoluments  through  it  ;  the  major 
number,  if  their  party  be  of  long  existence,  to  preserve 
their  inherited  or  acquired  political  prejudice,  and  to 
demonstrate  their  unswerving  political  fidelity.  A  party 
is  not  a  church,  nor  a  standing  army  ;  yet  men  will  love 
it  as  they  do  the  one,  and  fear  it  as  they  would  the  other, 
and  sacrifice  principle  for  its  maintenance  when  there  is 
nothing  to  maintain,  crucify  conscience  in  support  of  it 
when  there  is  nothing  to  support,  and  abuse  other  men 
for  abandoning  it  when  there  was  nothing  to  forsake — 
nothing  but  the  adjective.  Bury  all  parties  to-day  and 
you  shall  miss  nothing  to-morrow.  E~o  mourner  could 
even  find  the  burial-place  of  one,  that  he  might  weep 
over  it.  The  world  would  wag  right  on,  undisturbed, 
and  with  no  one  the  wiser  or  the  worse.  Next  week,  or 
next  year,  as  occasion  should  require,  men  would  assem 
ble  and  vote,  and  nominate,  and  elect  ;  and  their  prin 
ciples  would  find  declaration  and  official  embodiment  ; 
and  no  tears  would  be  shed  except  over  some  dear  ad 
jective  departed,  with  speedy  resurrection  possible  in 
the  dictionary. 

General  Fisk  was  not  one  of  the  first  to  espouse 
National  Prohibition  through  party  alliance.  A  few 
others  had  been  out  on  the  skirmish  line  of  that  reform 
several  years,  when  he  joined  them  with  a  small  part  of 
the  main  fighting  corps.  But  all  along  his  sympathies 
had  been  with  them,  and  for  a  considerable  time  pre- 


PARTY   AND   PROHIBITION.  173 

vious  to  1884,  he  felt  like  singing,  as  often  the  "  Fisk 
Jubilees  "  had  sung  in  his  hearing — 

"  I  am  troubled  in  my  mind." 

Over  and  over,  before  vast  audiences,  in  the  church  and 
on  secular  platforms,  he  had  spoken  for  temperance  ; 
and  his  heart  said  "  Amen  "  to  every  effort  for  the  saving 
of  society  from  drink  and  its  universal  curse.  He  be 
lieved  in  Prohibition,  though  he  would  welcome  any  ap 
plication  of  law  which,  while  it  should  not  traverse  right 
principles,  might  promise  curtailment  of  the  growing 
wrong.  With  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler,  in  the  National  Tem 
perance  Society  and  out  of  it,  he  stood  for  any  progres 
sive  measures  that  should  throttle  the  power  of  rum, 
while  confident  that  there  could  be  only  one  logical  and 
ultimate  policy  to  make  temperance  reform  a  lasting 
success.  That  policy,  he  realized,  must  be  political,  and 
as  inclusive  as  the  curse  it  should  seek  to  remove.  It 
must  be  partisan,  because  to  achieve  political  results  men 
vote  together  for  their  achievement,  and,  banded  so  to 
vote,  they  are  called  by  a  party  name  and  act  in  a  par 
tisan  way.  The  partisanship  must  be  national  in  scope, 
because  a  national  policy  had  become  necessary  to  meet 
and  overmatch  a  national  curse.  With  others,  General 
Fisk  had  hopes  that  such  a  policy  would  be, adopted  by 
the  Republican  Party  ;  and  he  tarried  in  its  affilia 
tion  a  good  while  after  mentally  accepting  the  logic  above 
briefly  set  forth.  In  the  early  summer  of  1884  he  held 
the  same  party  attitude  held  by  ex-Governor  John  P. 
St.  John,  of  Kansas,  who  had  trained  loyally  in  the 
Republican  ranks  two  years  after  being  beaten  for  a 
third  term  as  Governor  of  that  State.  Both,  with 
Frances  E,  Willard  and  a  host  more  of  devoted  women 


174  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK    BOWEK   FISK. 

and  patriotic  men,  were  suppliants  before  the  National 
Republican  Party  for  some  policy  of  opposition  to  the 
saloon.  General  Fisk  and  Governor  St.  John  were  yet 
loyal  to  the  party  they  had  loved  so  long  and  well.  Both 
hated  to  leave  it,  and  were  willing  to  accept  the  most 
conservative  utterances  of  anti-liquor  purpose,  rather 
than  sever  party  bonds  and  step  out  with  a  few  so-called 
fanatics  for  separate  political  action. 

The  Republicans  met  in  National  Convention  at  Chi 
cago,  on  June  22d,  that  memorable  year,  and  before 
their  Committee  on  Resolutions  went  Miss  Willard,  rep 
resenting  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  ;  John  B.  Finch,  representing  the  great  order  of 
Good  Templars  ;  and  others,  bearing  influential  petitions 
that  temperance  be  recognized  and  indorsed.  Their 
prayers  were  denied.  Miss  Willard's  pathetic  plea 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  some  who  listened,  but  her 
memorial,  after  she  retired,  was  thrust  from  the  table 
and  spat  upon.  The  Republican  platform  had  not  a 
word  for  the  home  as  against  the  saloon.  Previous 
platforms  were  reaffirmed — Raster  Resolution  of  1872 
and  all — but  no  new  declaration,  in  favor  of  a  new  and 
worthy  opposition  to  the  liquor  traffic,  could  be  found 
in  the  new  platform,  to  make  glad  the  hope  of  those  who 
had  hoped  so  much. 

Then  Governor  St.  John  swung  out  of  Republican 
line,  and  so  did  General  Fisk.  The  former  was  nomi 
nated  for  President  by  the  Prohibitionists,  at  Pittsburg, 
July  23d,  and  the  latter  gave  him  hearty  and  helpful 
support.  General  Fisk  attended  the  Pittsburg  Conven 
tion,  and  had  part  in  St.  John's  nomination.  His  name 
was  only  less  familiar  to  temperance  ears  than  Governor 
St.  John's,  and  some  talk  was  heard  of  putting  him  upon 
the  ticket  for  first  place,  but  he  had  not  been  so  intensely 


PARTY    AND    PROHIBITION.  175 

radical  of  utterance  as  Governor  St.  John,  lie  had  in 
slight  fashion  committed  himself  to  the  policy  of  high 
license  a  year  or  two  earlier,  though  repentant  of  even 
the  mild  commitment  made,'  and  he  escaped  sacrifice  as 
a  leader  at  that  time.  His  name  was  brought  forward 
in  convention,  however,  for  Yice-President,  and  had 
warm  reception  ;  and  the  speech  in  which  he  declined 
the  honor  rang  so  strong  and  eloquent  for  prohibition 
against  license,  and  for  the  party  there  by  representa 
tion  assembled — it  was  so  happy  in  temper,  so  "uncom 
promising  of  spirit,  and  so  admirable  every  way — that  it 
gave  him  instant  national  prestige,  and  was  prophetic  of 
his  future  leadership. 

The  campaign  which  followed  was  a  severe  test  of  the 
stamina  in  both  General  Fisk  and  Governor  St.  John. 
Persistent  efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  latter' s  retire 
ment,  and  to  win  the  support  of  the  former  for  Mr. 
Elaine,  his  personal  friend.  Every  line  of  honorable 
influence  was  tried  with  him,  and  he  was  even  followed 
from  city  to  city,  on  his  private  business  errands,  by 
men  supposedly  in  such  close  relation  as  would  give 
special  weight  to  their  appeals.  The  boast  was  made, 
even,  that  General  Fisk  had  already  abandoned  the  Pro 
hibition  candidate,  or  would  soon  forsake  him  ;  but  Mr. 
J.  B.  Cornell  heard  it,  and  said  : 

"  I  would  venture  my  whole  iron  business  [and  it  was 
worth  millions]  that  he  will  not  go  back  to  the  Republi 
can  Party  ;  and,"  he  added,  "  I've  not  talked  an  hour 
with  him  about  it  either." 

The  pressure  grew  heavy  upon  him,  but  at  last  Gen 
eral  Fisk  ended  it  all.  He  had  not  been  able  to  take  the 
stump  for  St.  John,  and  did  not  do  it  to  any  extent 
throughout  the  campaign,  but  he  was  present  at  a  great 
mass-meeting  in  Newark,  where  that  gentleman  ap- 


176  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

peared,  and  there  lie  made  a  speech.  It  left  no  doubt 
of  his  purpose,  arid  his  fixed  principle,  in  anybody's 
mind.  It  settled  his  party  attitude  beyond  the  perad- 
venture  of  Republican  needs  or  the  wish  of  Republican 
leaders.  It  cost  him  the  friendship  of  some,  genial  and 
full  of  charity  as  it  was  ;  but  it  saved  him  further  an 
noyance  and  importunity.  Old  associates  conceded  his 
new  political  association  final,  after  that. 

In  1886  the  Prohibitionists  of  New  Jersey  determined 
on  making  their  cause  felt  in  the  politics  of  that  State. 
Prohibition  sentiment  had  been  steadily  increasing  since 
the  Presidential  campaign  ended,  and  its  promoters  grew 
sanguine.  With  active  preliminary  effort,  a  large  con 
vention,  and  a  popular  candidate  for  governor,  they  saw 
it  possible  to  push  their  issue  squarely  forward  in  public 
recognition,  and  compel  respect.  They  decided  on  all 
these  conditions,  and  achieved  them.  One,  indeed — 
that  of  candidate — was  already  settled  quite  to  their 
hand,  by  common  party  opinion,  widely  expressed.  The 
large  convention  came  naturally  from  general  interest 
and  the  preliminary  efforts  put  forth.  It  was  the  largest 
ever  held,  and  of  overflowing  enthusiasm. 

Six  hundred  delegates  came  together  in  the  Grand 
Opera  House  at  Newark,  May  27th,  forming  such  a 
gathering,  politically,  as  New  Jersey  never  before  saw. 
They  chose  General  Fisk  permanent  chairman,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  routine  business,  after  a  reception  of  the  gen 
eral,  which  lasted  several  minutes,  and  was  tempestuous 
beyond  anything  he  had  ever  seen,  perhaps,  in  all  his 
varied  public  experience.  There  were  other  wild  dem 
onstrations  of  popular  regard  for  General  Fisk  as  the 
day  wore  on  ;  and  when,  during  some  informal  speeches 
by  visitors,  in  the  afternoon,  pen  ding  committee  reports, 
his  name  was  mentioned  as  that  of  the  coming  candidate, 


PARTY   AND    PROHIBITION.  177 

enthusiasm  boiled  over,  and  spent  itself  in  a  regular  riot 
of  good  feeling,  party  fervor,  and  superheated  zeal. 

They  came  to  nominations  next  day.  With  intense 
desire  to  avoid  political  leadership,  General  Fisk  had 
privately  sought  to  turn  the  tide  another  way.  It  could 
not  be  turned.  Its  currents  all  set  toward  the  one  man 
who  had  been  spontaneously  selected,  in  the  minds  of 
those  present,  for  service  as  their  chief.  Other  names 
had  been  mentioned,  it  is  true,  but  of  gentlemen  who 
insisted  that  General  Fisk  should  be  chosen  instead,. and 
who  would  not  yield  to  his  repeated  assurances  that  he 
must  be  excused. 

He  was  nominated  by  acclamation.  This  biographer 
sat  near  him  on  the  stage,  and  saw  how  his  frame  shook 
with  emotion  as  the  test-hour  struck.  The  platform 
had  been  adopted,  and  a  whirlwind  of  applause  had 
greeted  that.  A  motion  to  proceed  with  raising  a  cam 
paign  fund  had  been  made.  Then  somebody  said  : 

"  We  of  South  Jersey  will  be  able  to  give  with  a  great 
deal  better  grace  when  we  know  that  Clinton  B.  Fisk  is 
our  candidate." 

The  cheers  rang  out  again  at  that. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  the  Hon.  Chauncey  Shaffer, 
"  I  move  as  an  amendment  that  we  do  now  nominate 
General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  for  Governor  of  New  Jersey." 

Never  before  was  an  amendment  seconded  and  carried 
in  such  fashion.  Delegates  rose  and  swung  their  hats, 
their  handkerchiefs,  their  umbrellas  ;  they  stood  upon 
the  chairs,  and  waved  banners,  and  shouted  ;  they  sub 
sided  only  to  break  out  afresh  more  riotously;  and  the 
scene  lasted  several  minutes.  The  acclaim  of  that  nom 
ination  was  wonderful,  and  never  to  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  heard  it. 

When  General  Fisk  rose  to  speak  they  would  not  let 


178  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK. 

him,  and  again  and  again  swelled  the  tremendous  volume 
of  applause  as  he  sought  to  secure  silence  and  their  atten 
tion.  At  length,  when  the  storm  had  fairly  spent  itself, 
in  the  calm,  masterful  manner  so  habitual  with  him 
before  an  audience,  though  his  whole  form  trembled 
with  the  feeling  repressed,  he  said  : 

' '  Gentlemen  of  ihe  Convention  : 

"  I  once  was  very  near  the  track  of  a  cyclone  in  the  West,  but  for 
tunately  not  near  enough  for  it  to  have  any  effect  upon  me.  This 
time  I  am  in  the  very  current,  and  find  myself  swept  in.  Of  course 
I  did  not  anticipate  until  yesterday  any  such  possibility  as  this  re 
sult.  Many  of  you  have  my  letters  in  your  pockets  containing  the 
expressions  of  my  unalterable  decision  never  to  be  a  candidate  for 
public  office.  When  I  was  a  boy  I  ran  for  a  little  place  on  a  temper 
ance  ticket  in  Michigan  and  was  defeated.  I  have  never  tried  my 
running  powers  since. 

"  I  have  had  a  wonderful  time  thinking  about  this  proffered  nom 
ination  and  what  I  ought  to  do,  since  so  many  of  my  friends  have 
come  to  me  and  so  kindly  urged  me  to  give  the  matter  consideration. 
I  had  hoped  until  this  morning  that  I  might  persuade  another  to  be 
your  candidate— another  to  whom  your  eyes  have  been  turned.  None 
of  you  can  doubt  my  adhesion  to  this  grand  triumphing  Prohibition 
Party.  If  I  have  entertained  misgivings  on  my  own  score,  it  has  not 
been  because  of  want  of  confidence  in  the  party  or  of  devotion  to  it. 

"  I  need  not  more  than  thank  you  for  this  very  cordial  and  flatter 
ing  tender  of  your  nomination.  Only,  gentlemen,  I  did  not  want  it 
Ito  tcome  exactly  in  the  way  that  it  has  come.  It  has  been  painful, 
indeed,  to  sit  here  and  listen  to  what  you  have  compelled  me  to  hear. 
But,  gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  serve  for  you. " 

At  this  point  the  wildest  demonstrations  again  burst 
forth,  and  were  some  time  continued,  until  a  delegate 
began  to  sing — 

"  Praise  (Jod  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

Suddenly,  and  with  swift  transition,  the  enthusiasm 
melted  into  song,  which  softened  the  hearts  of  all.  At 
least  one  present  recalled  that  marvellous  scene  at  Pitts- 


PARTY   AND    PROHIBITION.  179 

bnrg,  in  1884,  when  the  nomination  of  Governor  St.  John 
had  excited  like  approval,  and  when,  in  the  very  midst 
of  it,  a  voice  struck  up — 

'  In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea." 

And  now,  as  then,  there  fell  a  solemn  hush  upon  the 
tumultuous  throng,  till  tears  filled  many  eyes,  and  such 
devout  tenderness  stirred  every  heart  as  differentiated 
this  from  the  nominating  convention  of  any  other  party. 
Their  candidate  was  nearly  broken  down  by  the  tense 
strain  of  feeling  which  these  six  hundred  men  had 
caused,  and  his  voice  trembled,  even  as  did  he,  when  he 
proceeded  to  say  : 

"  I  understand  that  before  me  is  much  hard  work,  and  I  will  to 
the  best  of  my  ability  do  it.  There  will  be  no  child's  play  the  next 
five  months  in  New  Jersey.  Things  are  going  to  be  hot.  All  sorts 
of  representations  and  misrepresentations  will  be  made  about  us, 
and  we  must  expect  that.  All  sorts  of  calumny  will  be  rained  upon 
us  by  the  rum-sellers  and  their  parties — we  can  stand  that.  A  word 
or  two  was  said  yesterday  about  the  Trenton  Conference.  (The 
Republican  Anti-Saloon  Conference.)  This  morning  I  looked  over 
that  body's  proceedings  for  the  first  time,  and  I  found  much  in  what 
they  did  and  said  which  I  can  heartily  approve.  Hear  what  they  say 
about  the  rum-seller  ;  see  if  we  can  say  anything  better : 

"  '  Intemperance  is  the  conspicuous,  the  colossal  curse  of  society  ; 
it  is  the  prolific  source  of  poverty  and  pauperism,  the  breeder  of  and 
stimulant  to  crime,  the  waster  and  devourer  of  individual  and 
national  wealth,  the  blight  of  honest  industry,  the  disorganizer  and 
destroyer  of  the  peace  and  purity  of  home,  the  antagonist  of  religion, 
the  foe  of  law  and  order,  and  the  enemy  of  good  government.'  " 

Here  a  delegate  asked — 
"  What  are  they  going  to  do  about  it  ?" 
"  Why,"  said  the  general,  "  they  will  have  to  come 
with  us,"  and,  as  often  during  his  speech,  ringing  ap 
plause  came  in  as  punctuation.     Resuming,  he  said  : 

"  When  I  read  over  the  list  of  those  who  attended  that  conference,  I 
found  some  most  excellent  names.  There  are.  men  in  that  movement 


180  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

who  mean  business — men  who  will  have  to  change  position  soon. 
There  are  men  whose  hearts  will  bleed  as  mine  has  bled  when  after 
twenty  years  of  faithfulness  I  had  to  leave  the  old  party  behind  me 
—the  old  party  that  had  been  behind  me  in  quite  another  sense  in 
the  smoke  of  the  conflict.  It  will  not  be  easy  for  them  to  change. 
But  if  it  is  possible  let  us  smooth  the  way,  and  prepare  a  new  home 
for  them  without  making  their  poor  hearts  bleed  too  much.  Let  me 
tell  you  it  took  courage  for  those  sixty,  seventy,  or  eighty  to  do  what 
they  did. 

"  This  cause  is  as  sure  as  that  the  stars  shine.  Truth  always  con 
quers,  always  swells  on,  as  resistless  as  the  tides  of  yonder  sea.  'Tis 
weary  watching,  but  remember  : 

"  '  Where  the  vanguard  rests  to-day, 
The  rear  shall  tent  to-morrow.' 

Let  us  keep  going  forward  with  our  first  great  party.  Now,  after 
what  has  been  said,  I  need  not  detain  you  with  a  formal  speech.  I 
give  you  again  my  thanks  for  this  nomination,  and  my  promise  to  try 
to  make  the  most  of  it  for  you  and  for  the  cause." 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 

HIS    NEW    JERSEY    CAMPAIGN. 

THAT  New  Jersey  campaign  of  1886  was  the  most 
notable  yet  carried  on  for  Prohibition  in  any  State. 
"  Things  are  going  to  be  hot,"  General  Fisk  had  said, 
in  his  address  of  acceptance  ;  and  he  made  them  so. 
He  bore  the  banner  of  his  young  and  aggressive  party 
from  one  end  of  Jersey  to  the  other,  and  always  with  a 
smile  on  his  face,  and  words  of  kindly  good-nature  on 
his  tongue.  No  asperities  of  speech  could  be  charged  to 
him.  He  was  genial  as  a  June  day  throughout  the 
whole  five  months,  during  which  he  made  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  speaking  engagements  and  filled  them 
all,  travelling  five  thousand  miles  to  do  it.  Nothing 
moved  him  from  a  serenity  which  impressed  every  one 
he  met.  There  seemed  always  about  him  an  atmosphere 
purer  and  sweeter  than  that  in  which  political  candidates 
usually  walk  ;  he  breathed  forth  a  spirit  of  lofty  patriot 
ism  that  was  uplifting  and  ennobling. 

Yet  the  chicanery  of  old  party  methods  tried  to  hedge 
him  in.  His  nomination  had  changed  the  whole  political 
aspect  of  New  Jersey  for  some  men.  The  most  popular 
Republican  that  State  held  was  planning  to  be  its  next 
governor,  and  had  hopes  of  success  till  General  Fisk  took 
the  field.  Then  he  knew,  and  his  friends,  that  no 
chance  remained  for  him,  unless  the  general  would  re 
tire  ;  and  plans  to  secure  his  retirement  were  contem 
plated,  if  not  laid.  One  of  these  involved  the  election, 


182  LIFE   OF   CLIKTOK   BOWEST   FISK. 

by  the  Legislature,  of  General  Fisk  as  United  States 
Senator  ;  and  for  some  days  the  press  teemed  with  talk 
about  it.  A  favorite  popular  scheme  was  the  reverse  of 
this,  and  meant  the  indorsement  of  General  Fisk  for 
Governor,  by  the  Republicans,  and  his  support  and  elec 
tion  by  them,  in  return  for  which  the  Prohibitionists 
were  to  make  no  legislative  nominations,  and  so  insure  a 
Republican  Legislature  that  should  return  a  Republican 
Senator  to  Washington. 

On  these  two  opposing  plans  rested  the  hopes  of  cer 
tain  opposing  Republican  factions  ;  while  the  fears  of 
both  were  excited  lest  Prohibitionists  should  develop 
sufficient  strength,  in  some  counties,  to  elect  legislative 
candidates  there,  who  should  in  turn  make  a  deadlock 
possible  in  the  Legislature,  and  give  the  senatorship  to 
General  Fisk  anyhow. 

The  opportunity  was  ripe  for  some  well- managed  polit 
ical  "  deals."  and  in  a  State,  too,  where  "  deals  "  have 
been  common,  if  common  report  be  true.  But  General 
Fisk  scorned  them  all. 

"  We  are  not  political  Swiss  Guards,"  he  said  ;  "  we 
are  fighting  to  do  away  with  the  alcoholic  liquor  traffic, 
and  propose  to  elect  men  to  represent  our  principles. 
We  have  no  '  deals  '  to  make. ' ' 

He  made  none.  He  could  have  been  elected  governor 
by  a  turn  of  his  hand,  but  he  stood  true  to  the  white 
banner  of  Prohibition  and  would  carry  it  un soiled  till 
November  came.  Meanwhile,  all  around  him  were 
uncertainty  and  ferment. 

"  The  only  thing  certain  at  present  about  the  New 
Jersey  campaign,"  said  a  reporter  for  the  Chicago  News, 
under  date  of  July  12th,  "  is  that  Fisk  is  making  a  brill 
iant  canvass,  and  that  he  has  the  church  forces  largely 
at  his  back." 


HIS    NEW    JERSEY    CAMPAIGN.  183 

Yet  another  certainty  did  obtain.  General  Fisk  him 
self  stated  it  to  a  reporter  for  one  of  the  Newark  papers  : 

"  The  friends  of  temperance  saw  that  if  their  ideas 
were  to  be  made  dominant  they  must  form  a  new  party, 
with  lines  as  distinct  as  either  of  the  old.  This  idea  was 
never  thoroughly  grasped  until  the  State  Convention 
was  held  in  Newark  this  year.  When  we  agreed  there 
never  to  allow  our  candidates  to  enter  the  caucuses  of  the 
old  parties,  a  true  political  party  was  born,  and  not  till 
then.  Its  growth  since  has  been  like  the  spreading  of 
wild  fire  in  a  pine  forest." 

It  was  certain  then  that  the  Prohibitionists  were  not 
political  traders,  and  that  their  party  was  on  the  gain, 
and  gaining  in  the  most  purely  independent  fashion. 

"  If  the  Kepublican  Party  expects  to  indorse  the  Pro 
hibition  Party,"  frankly  asserted  General  Fisk,  "  it  will 
have  to  come  over  into  our  camp  body  and  soul." 

Which  did  not  so  much  imply  belief  that  any  party 
has  a  soul,  as  that  the  sole  purpose  of  the  Prohibitionists 
was  to  win  for  Prohibition,  outside  all  entangling  alli 
ances,  and  with  transparent  candor  and  loyal  single- 
heartedness. 

The  general's  campaign,  as  taken  part  in  by  himself, 
was  composed  of  a  well-arranged  series  of  county  mass- 
meetings,  and  something  of  their  spirit  and  effect  may 
be  gathered  from  this  description,  by  Colonel  R.  S. 
Cheves,  an  eloquent  Southern  lecturer,  given  in  the 
New  York  Voice : 

' '  In  my  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  active  political  experience  I 
have  never  seen  a  mass  of  people  so  stirred  in  behalf  of  a  political 
idea,  so  enthusiastic  in  behalf  of  a  popular  leader,  and  so  determined 
to  make  their  cause  and  their  favorite  triumphant,  as  the  Prohibi 
tionists  of  New  Jersey  are  now  for  General  Fisk  and  the  things  that 
General  Fisk  represents.  The  weather  is  blazing  hot,  the  farmers 
are  busy  with  their  crops,  and  the  general  interest  in  politics  has  no 


184  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

yet  been  duly  pitched,  since  neither  the  Democrats  nor  Republicans 
are  in  the  fight ;  but  every  one  of  the  general's  meetings  is  an  ovation. 

"  Why,  the  farmers  drive  to  these  county  meetings  by  the  hundreds  ; 
and  the  proportion  of  those  who  come  a  distance  of  fifteen,  eighteen, 
and  twenty  miles  is  not  inconsiderable.  They  bring  their  families 
with  them,  arriving  early  in  the  morning  ;  and  most  of  them  remain 
until  the  night  meeting  is  over.  The  interest  that  they  manifest  in 
the  speeches  is  simply  astonishing  ;  they  will  remain  four  and  five 
hours  at  a  stretch  without  leaving  their  seats. 

'•  General  Fisk,  as  a  candidate  and  as  a  campaigner,  deserves  to  be 
called  peerless.  The  effect  of  his  personal  magnetism  in  this  fight 
is  going  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  it.  There  are  incidents 
at  these  meetings  that  are  profoundly  affecting.  At  Belvidere,  the 
other  day  (and  indeed  at  most  places  where  I  have  had  the  good  for 
tune  to  be  present  with  him)  in  introducing  me  to  the  audience  he 
took  my  hand,  stood  up  with  me  before  the  people,  and  in  a  most 
eloquent  manner  spoke  of  the  war  in  which  we  fought  to  shed  each 
other's  blood— he  on  the  Union  side  and  I  on  the  Confederate— and 
told  how  this  temperance  question  is  now  wiping  out  sectional  hates 
and  jealousies  and  giving  old  enemies  the  burning  desire  to  struggle 
unselfishly  for  the  common  good.  The  effect  was  remarkable.  The 
contrast  and  the  appeal  went  straight  to  the  hearts  of  the  listeners. 
I  have  seen  whole  crowds  of  men  and  women  burst  out  crying  and 
sobbing." 

At  each  of  these  large  county  meetings,  where  two,  and 
often  three,  sessions  were  held,  General  Fisk  had  the 
assistance  of  other  speakers  of  large  repute,  that  the 
labor  might  not  fall  so  severely  upon  him  alone.  Mrs. 
Mary  T.  Lathrap,  President  of  the  Michigan  W.  C.  T. 
U.,  and  known  all  over  the  nation  for  her  rare  platform 
power,  spoke  at  several  places,  and  has  written  down 
her  impressions  of  that  campaign  for  these  pages  : 

"  One  sure  token  of  decay  and  weakness  in  the  old 
political  parties,"  Mrs.  Lathrap  says,  "is  the  fact  that 
much  of  their  discussion  has  shifted  from  principles  and 
issues  to  personalities  and  slanders. 

"  Great  masses  of  our  people  leave  their  political 
thinking  to  party  leaders,  orators,  and  writers,  so  any 


HIS    NEW    JERSEY    CAMPAIGN".  185 

campaign  lifts  or  lowers  the  standards  of  patriotism, 
loyalty,  and  integrity,  according  as  the  ideals  and  argu 
ments  are  high  and  worthy  or  the  reverse. 

"  The  time  was  when  such  months  of  discussion  quick 
ened  brain  and  conscience,  making  the  people  worthy  of 
their  mighty  trust  ;  the  time  is  when  the  streams  of 
political  debate  run  thick  with  the  slime  of  evil  speech, 
and  blacken  the  name  and  record  of  the  man  soon  to  be 
lifted  to  the  highest  honor. 

"  The  campaign  of  1884,  with  its  coarse,  low  scandal, 
which  crowded  out  all  better  thinking,  left  the  country 
with  patriotic  enthusiasm  slain  and  moral  sense  para 
lyzed. 

"  The  pity  of  it  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  man  chosen 
by  the  people  to  a  position  higher  than  any  other  ruler 
in  the  world,  limps  to  place  with  a  wound  in  his  man 
hood  which  all  the  show  of  office  cannot  hide. 

"  Political  parties  that  pave  the  way  to  success  by  such 
methods  are  too  corrupt  for  anything  but  swift  burial. 
One  mission  of  the  Prohibition  Party  and  its  leaders  is 
already  proven,  in  lifting  public  thought  once  more  from 
this  low  level  of  strife  for  spoils,  to  the  high  realm  of 
principle,  thus  compelling  public  attention  along  patri 
otic  channels. 

"  A  most  remarkable  illustration  was  the  campaign  of 
General  Fisk  in  New  Jersey.  Never  was  a  worthier 
name  put  before  a  commonwealth  for  its  highest  office, 
and  never  a  nobler  contest  was  waged  in  the  forum  of 
open  discussion.  It  was  like  the  old  days,  when  the 
princes  of  statesmanship  went  out  to  great  convocations 
of  the  people  with  a  reason  why  for  the  choices  soon  to 
be  made. 

"  A  series  of  county  meetings  was  arranged,  to  be 
addressed  by  General  Fisk  and  a  corps  of  workers  that 


186  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

assisted  him.  For  the  most  part  these  gatherings  were 
in  the  open  air,  and  held  through  an  entire  day. 

"  The  people  rallied  from  afar,  drawn  by  the  novelty 
and  interest  of  such  discussion  of  the  most  pressing  pub 
lic  question,  and  listened  often  by  the  thousands,  helped 
always  to  pure  and  just  conclusions,  and  inspired  to 
better  things.  General  Fisk  was  the  grand  magnetic 
centre.  Party  leaders  feared  and  opposed  him,  bat  he 
made  them  ashamed  of  anything  save  manly  opposition. 
Enemies  sought  to  defame,  but  his  patience  and  gentle 
ness  put  '  coals  of  lire  on  their  heads. ' 

"  He  never  uttered  a  word  too  harsh  for  a  parlor,  or 
used  an  illustration  unfit  for  the  most  sensitive  ear.  He 
took  sharp  issue  with  the  positions  of  the  old  parties,  by 
which  evil  was  legalized  and  the  price  of  life  taken  for 
revenue,  yet  he  was  ever  fair  to  his  opponents.  His 
reason  why  was  riot  the  growth  and  power  of  his  own 
party,  but  the  sorrow  and  desolation  in  the  homes  of  the 
people,  and  indignation  at  the  wrong. 

"  In  presence  of  his  example  all  other  speakers  felt 
harshness  out  of  place,  and  the  entire  atmosphere  of  the 
campaign  was  high,  intellectual,  even  spiritual.  General 
Fisk's  speeches  were  not  alone  remarkable  for  the  absence 
of  what  makes  up  the  average  political  tirade,  but  for  the 
presence  of  all  that  brings  manhood  to  its  best,  in  the  in 
terest  of  home  and  country.  Story,  argument,  poetry, 
history,  were  all  woven  like  cloth  of  gold  into  the  rare 
fabric  of  his  speech. 

"  He  was  a  typical  American,  an  ideal  statesman,  a 
pure  patriot,  conducting  a  model  campaign. 

"  One  scene  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  took 
part  in  it.  A  great  meeting  was  held  in  one  of  the 
southern  counties.  The  grove  was  fitted  up  with  seats 
made  of  railroad  ties  ;  tables  were  set  under  the  trees  by 


HIS   NEW   JERSEY   CAMPAIGN.  187 

the  ladies  of  a  village  church  near  at  hand  ;  and  trains 
and  carriages  brought  the  people. 

u  The  afternoon  was  rare  as  a  summer  day  could  be, 
but  at  evening  a  fog  came  up  from  the  ocean,  and  clung 
around  the  world  like  a  garment  of  gray  gauze.  Hun 
dreds  of  men  and  boys  came  from  the  cranberry  fields, 
for  the  evening  meeting,  representing  the  common  toilers 
of  the  State  and  nation.  The  lamps  and  camp-fires 
gleamed  dimly  through  the  mist,  and  it  seemed  that 
with  the  strange  concourse  of  people  there  might  be  fail 
ure  to  secure  kindly  and  attentive  hearing. 

"  What  a  gem  was  the  address  of  Clinton  B.  Fisk  that 
night  !  He  made  no  effort  to  catch  the  crowd  by  con 
sidering  them  at  a  distance  from  himself,  and  descending 
from  his  own  high  level  of  thought  and  speech,  but 
found  swift  access  to  the  hearts  of  men  by  way  of  his 
own,  while  he  pleaded  for  home  and  country,  and  the 
best  for  every  man's  child. 

1 '  When  pleading  for  the  home  against  the  saloon,  and 
the  whole  people  against  the  liquor-dealers,  he  often  re 
peated,  with  touching  pathos  of  voice  and  manner  : 

"  '  Through  all  the  long  dark  night  of  years 

The  people's  cry  ascended  ; 
The  earth  was  wet  with  blood  and  tears, 

But  her  meek  sufferance  ended  ; 
This  wrong  shall  not  forever  sway, 

The  many  toil  in  sorrow  ; 
The  bars  of  hell  are  strong  to-day, 

But  Christ  shall  reign  to-morrow.' 

"  Life's  slight  distinctions  seemed  to  melt  away,  as  he 
lifted  all  men  in  common  brotherhood  to  the  sunlit 
regions  of  his  own  princely  soul.  It  was  reversing  the 
usual  political  method,  which  drags  politician  and  party 
down  to  the  lowest  while  principle  must  be  left  behind. 


188  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK. 

"  He  went  out  to  those  who  had  less  of  moral  chances, 
struck  with  master  hand  the  highest  chords,  lifted  all 
hearts,  and  discovered  the  manhood  of  men. 

u  That  citizen  is  worthy  of  highest  honor  who  has 
shown  in  the  public  debates  of  a  great  campaign  patri 
otism  for  country,  tolerance  tor  political  opponents,  and 
reverence  for  every  human  right.  The  Republic  waits 
for  such  statesmen  to  build  its  new  prophetic  future." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES    AND    CALUMNY. 

FEW  of  General  Fisk's  addresses  during  that  campaign 
found  preservation  in  any  way.  They  were  not  "  set  " 
efforts,  elaborately  prepared,  but  timely,  familiar,  con 
versational,  bringing  his  hearers  at  once  into  full  sym 
pathy  with  himself.  At  Woodside  Park,  July  13th, 
before  a  grand  open-air  gathering,  among  other  ihings, 
he  said  : 

"  A  great  cause,  second  only  to  that  of  the  divine  Master,  brings 
the  people  of  Essex  County  here  to-day.  A  clergyman  said  to  me 
not  long  ago  that  he  believed  in  the  justice  and  righteousness  of  our 
cause,  but  that  he  felt  hardly  prepared  to  enter  into  the  conflict.  In 
Heaven's  name  don't  come  until  you  are  fully  prepared  !  This 
clergyman  thought  it  was  a  moral  question.  I  say  « Amen '  to  that  1" 
He  thought  the  Christian  Church  should  take  hold  of  it.  Again,  I  say 
'  Amen  !'  Every  pulpit  in  the  land  should  thunder  against  the  iniqui 
tous  liquor  traffic. 

"  To-day  the  Prohibition  Party  of  New  Jersey  is  pitching  its  tents 
within  the  very  picket-line  of  the  enemy.  Newark,  with  her  150,000 
people,  is  the  headquarters  of  the  enemy  in  New  Jersey,  and  no  man 
of  them  is  in  doubt  what  he  is  to  do.  But  we  shall  establish  our 
headquarters  there  among  them  within  three  days.  Mr.  Cator  says 
there  are  four  thousand  saloons  near  us.  I  am  glad  the  Goddess  of 
Liberty  will  have  her  nose  out  toward  the  sea.  A  Christian  minister 
doubting  for  a  moment  as  to  his  duty  toward  the  cause  of  such  a 
stench,  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  me.  It  was  hard  work  for  me 
to  turn  back  upon  my  old  party.  There  are  good  people  enough  in 
that  party  who  are  hesitating  to-day  as  to  their  course,  who,  if  they 
would  come  with  us,  would  smother  rum  with  the  ballot  next 
November. 

"  How  I  did  plead  with  the  politicians  of  that  old  party  last  spring 
to  give  us  Local  Option.  But  it  was  no  use.  One  of  them  said  to 


100  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

me,  '  General,  if  I  should  vote  for  this  bill  it  would  lay  me  in  my 
political  grave.'  '  Vote  for  it  and  die,  then,'  said  I,  '  and  I  will  write 
on  your  tombstone,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord."  ' 
A  politician  can  always  afford  to  do  right.  It  is  a  short-sighted  policy 
to  hesitate,  as  the  Christian  people  of  New  Jersey  will  demonstrate 
at  the  ballot-box  this  fall. 

"  Young  men  of  the  Prohibition  Party,  you  are  beginning  right. 
You  have  made  no  mistake  in  coming  out  to  fight  this  curse,  which 
is  above  all  others  in  strength.  Not  content  with  thrusting  its  grizzly 
performance  in  the  faces  of  decent  citizens,  it  has  the  unparalleled 
audacity  to  tax  them,  in  order  that  it  may  keep  up  the  hideous  dis 
play,  and  parades  its  procession  of  idiots  and  maniacs  before  us  with 
the  confident  assurance  of  a  legalized  traffic.  Respectable  men, 
bound  by  the  political  ties  of  the  old  parties,  look  on  in  seeming  in 
difference  until  '  my  boy '  is  touched  by  the  plague.  Then  they 
awake.  They  do  not  know  that  every  boy  is  '  my  boy.'  Brave  Chris 
tian  women  who  demand  protection  for  '  my  boy, '  and  for  their  suffer 
ing  sisters,  are  denounced  as  fanatical.  The  Prohibition  Party  alone 
is  organized  to  destroy  this  curse.  We  are  going  to  stamp  Prohibi 
tion  on  every  State,  and  weld  it  into  the  organic  law  of  the  nation. 

"  As  a  woman's  inspiration  depicted  the  great  wrong  of  slavery, 
till  men  could  endure  the  hideous  sight  no  longer,  but  swept  it  away, 
so  in  the  fight  against  this  gigantic  evil  we  know  that  the  ballots  cast 
for  its  destruction  will  many  of  them  come  first  through  woman' s 
hands.  The  growing  sentiment  of  Prohibition  is  not  fashioned  in 
halls  of  Congress,  in  the  stately  courts  or  grand  salons  of  the  nation, 
but  it  comes  from  the  homes  of  the  humble  people.  From  the  pulpit, 
too,  of  many  a  God-fearing  minister  it  is  taught.  It  takes  courage  to 
preach  truth  to  the  distillery  which  subscribes  liberally  and  occupies 
a  prominent  pew — but  it  is  done. 

"  With  the  party  of  Prohibition  we  will  restore  a  grand  and  puri 
fied  Union.  All  other  interests  of  our  country  will  be  well  taken  care 
of  when  Prohibition  prevails.  We  work  for  party  purity  and  for 
national  honesty,  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  party  founded  upon  the 
jternal  principle  of  right. " 

At  Hamilton  Square,  a  quiet,  hid-away  hamlet  in 
Mercer  County,  remote  from  railroad  stir  and  rush,  the 
Prohibitionists  gathered  with  their  friends  for  a  cam 
paign  Harvest  Home.  It  was  a  day  of  liberal  neighbor 
hood  good  cheer,  of  the  pure  cold-water  type,  and  en- 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES    AND    CALUMNY.  191 

joyed  by  many  hundreds  with  uncommon  zest.  Their 
welcome  to  General  Fisk  could  not  have  been  warmer 
and  more  enthusiastic.  After  gratefully  acknowledging 
it,  he  said  : 

"  God's  gracious  hand  have  we  seen  in  the  waving  meadow  and 
the  bending  grain  ;  our  wagons  have  creaked  under  the  accumulated 
weight  of  His  abundance  ;  our  barns  are  bursting  with  fulness.  The 
maturing  corn  in  regiments  tosses  nodding  plumes  in  welcome  to  the 
approach  of  autumn.  It  is  befitting  that  we  gather  from  field  and 
forest,  from  happy  homes  in  smiling  villages  and  in  the  city  full, 
with  shout  and  song  and  praise  to  Him  who  sits  in  the  circle  of  the 
heavens,  and  is  mindful  of  His  children  on  the  earth.  All  hail  the 
Harvest  Home  at  Hamilton  Square  !  May  joy  and  gladness  fill  all  its 
happy  hours  !  What  a  blessed  thing  it  would  be  for  all  mankind  if 
all  the  people  of  the  world  possessed  the  contentment  and  happiness 
impressed  upon  the  faces  before  me.  Then,  indeed, 

"  '  The  beautiful  and  good  would  reign, 
The  smiling  Eden  bloom  again.' 

"  Alas  !  how  many  homes  there  are  that  celebrate  no  harvest  save 
that  of  wrath  and  sorrow  and  death.  In  a  myriad  of  such  the  arch 
fiend  of  rum  gloats  over  ruin  wrought  by  its  poison,  homes  where 
men,  transformed  into  beasts  by  the  saloon,  bring  naught  but  dark 
ness  and  woe  to  sorrowing  wife  and  wretched  children.  It  is  in 
behalf  of  such  homes  that  we  this  day  come  to  plead  for  your  sym 
pathy,  your  prayers,  and  your  activity  in  securing  measures  by  your 
suffrages  which  shall  overthrow  the  greatest  enemy  of  mankind—  the 
liquor  traffic.  There  is  no  citizen  who  thoughtfully  studies  the  mon 
strous  wrong  but  knows  that  the  chief  destructive  force  in  American 
society  to  day  is  the  American  saloon.  Judges  and  juries,  law  officers 
and  overburdened  taxpayers,  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  philan 
thropists,  ruined  homes,  destroyed  hopes,  pleading,  sorrowing  women 
and  suffering  orphans,  are  all  in  harmony  in  their  testimony  to  this 
fact. 

"  How  shall  this  destructive  force  be  arrested  ?  Manifestly  by  the 
combined  strength  of  moral  and  legal  forces.  The  Christian  Church, 
so  largely  represented  here,  without  distinction  of  creed,  should  bear 
aloft  the  pure  white  banner  of  Prohibition,  for  Christianity  has  no 
such  other  foe  in  its  highway  toward  the  millennium  as  the  saloon. 
Let  no  pulpit  voice  be  silent  or  equivocal  on  this  booming  question, 
but  ra.ther  wivth  instructive  entreaty  and  warning  sound  cjear  aflid 


192  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN   FISK. 

strong  and  afar  !  But  the  State  must  also  marshal  its  forces  along 
side  all  Christian  agencies,  and  with  moral  and  political  forces  com 
bined  we  will  remove  from  the  fair  face  of  our  civilization  that  cancer 
and  blistering  shame— the  American  saloon.  Prohibition  will  be 
written  in  our  statutes  and  stamped  on  our  organic  laws. 


"  All  temporizing  processes  are  a  failure. 

"  The  saloon  is  too  enormous  and  atrocious  to  be  hid,  too  cyclonic 
and  destructive  to  be  regulated,  and  too  insolent  to  be  longer  en 
dured.  Let  us  bring  all  the  wandering  and  separate  rays  of  protest 
and  remonstrance,  repression  and  restriction,  to  a  focus,  and  kindle 
a  flame  that  shall  burn  the  citadel  of  wrong  and  wrath  to  ashes.  Not 
until  then  will  the  despoiler  of  innocence  cease  to  bring  sorrow  to 
New  Jersey  homes.  Not  until  then  will  politicians  and  political 
parties  be  delivered  from  the  Satanic  sorceries  of  the  arch  fiend.  Let 
us  all,  as  we  retire  from  the  joys  of  this  magnificent  Harvest  Home, 
bear  with  us  the  high  resolve  that  this  supreme  cause  shall  have  the 
most  active  support  of  our  brains  and  hearts,  until  our  beautiful  State 
shall  be  a  citadel  of  sobriety  and  temperance  and  the  saloon  no  more 
hurt  and  destroy  in  all  our  borders." 

During  the  great  camp-meeting  of  the  National  Tem 
perance  Society,  held  at  Ocean  Grove,  he  spoke  to  an 
audience  crowding  the  Tabernacle,  and  uttered  these 
words  : 

"  Of  course  defeat  will  come  to  a  great  many  of  us.  Calumny  will 
be  as  plenty  as  the  sunshine  at  Ocean  Grove.  But  we  will  go  on 
steadily.  He  who  leans  on  God's  arm  cannot  suffer  harm.1' 

Calumny  was  not  quite  so  abundant  concerning  him  as 
he  thus  prophesied,  but  the  campaign  did  not  end  without 
it.  So  open  had  been  his  daily  life,  so  clean  and  un- 
soiled  his  entire  record,  that  even  the  most  bitter  editorial 
partisans,  wrathful  as  they  grew  over  the  new  party's 
progress  in  public  esteem  and  support,  hesitated  to  assail 
him  ;  and  his  caiivass  was  half  spent  before  any  tongue 
of  slander  wagged  malicious  words.  Then  the  charge 
appeared  in  a  Freehold  paper,  the  Monmouth  Inquirer, 
that  General  Fisk  was  part  owner  and  "  reputed  head  " 


CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES   AND   CALUMNY.  193 

of  the  Seabriglit  Inn,  in  which  liquors  were  or  had  been 
regularly  sold  under  license,  or  in  violation  of  law,  with 
his  full  knowledge  and  consent.  It  was  promptly  taken 
up  and  spread  abroad  with  varying  comment  ;  and  the 
liquor  men  of  New  Jersey,  and  thousands  of  old-party 
lovers,  manifested  great  joy  over  an  accusation  which, 
if  true,  must  sadly  injure  him  and  the  party  whose 
leadership  he  had  assumed.  This  attack  came  out  Sep 
tember  2d.  On  the  4th  General  Fisk  addressed  the  fol 
lowing  frank  reply  : 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  '  Inquirer  ': 

"  In  response  to  the  attack  made  upon  me  by  yourself  in  the 
Inquirer  of  September  2d,  will  you  permit  me  to  say  in  your  columns 
that  I  am  not  an  '  hotel  owner  ;'  neither  am  I  '  the  reputed  head  of 
the  Seabright  Inn.'  Personally,  I  have  not  a  dollar's  interest  in  the 
Seabright  Improvement  Company.  One  tenth  interest  in  said  com 
pany  is  owned  by  an  estate  I  represent  ;  an  investment  originally 
made  because  it  was  represented  that  the  property  was  being  pur 
chased  by  an  association  of  gentlemen  to  prevent  it  from  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  saloonists.  I  do  not  know  that  liquor  has  been  sold 
at  the  Seabright  Inn  ;  but  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  truth 
of  the  charge  that  it  has  been,  with  and  without  license.  It  was 
leased  to  a  party  who,  I  am  told,  was  not  a  Prohibitionist.  I  am  not, 
and  never  have  been  an  officer  of  the  Seabright  Improvement  Com 
pany.  Had  I  been,  no  whiskey-seller  or  whiskey-drinker  could  have 
leased  the  Seabright  Inn.  I  have  steadily  and  persistently  opposed, 
and  used  all  my  influence  to  prevent,  the  issue  of  licenses  to  any 
hotel  or  saloon  in  Seabright  or  elsewhere.  A  majority  of  the  share 
holders  in  the  Seabright  Improvement  Company,  ten  in  number, 
instead  of  three,  as  stated  by  yourself,  are  not  of  my  way  of  thinking 
on  the  license  question  ;  I  wish  they  were.  The  one  tenth  interest 
represented  by  myself  as  guardian  is  for  sale,  and  has  been  for  a  long 
time,  at  a  very  low  price. 

"  I  cannot  but  believe  that  the  liquor  traffic  is  just  what  the  Anti- 
Saloon  Republicans  emphatically  declared  it  to  be  at  their  late  con 
ference  in  Trenton,  to  wit :  '  The  conspicuous,  the  colossal  curse  of 
society  ;  the  prolific  source  of  poverty  and  pauperism,  the  breeder 
of  and  stimulant  to  crime,  the  waster  and  devourer  of  individual  and 
national  wealth,  the  blight  of  honest  industry,  the  disorganizer  and 


194  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK. 

destroyer  of  the  peace  and  purity  of  home,  the  antagonist  of  religion, 
the  foe  of  law  and  order,  the  enemy  of  good  government. '  For  the 
overthrow  of  an  evil  thus  truthfully  characterized  I  shall  continue  to 
do  my  utmost,  regardless  of  any  and  all  attacks  you  intimate  will  be 
made  upon  me  '  later  in  the  campaign.' 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"CLINTON   B.    FlSK. 

"  SEABBIGHT,  September  4th." 

The  Inquirer  did  not  drop  its  personal  assaults  here, 
but  published  a  second  statement,  more  virulent  still, 
and  asserted  that,  according  to  official  records,  General 
Fisk  was  the  owner  in  person  of  fifty  shares  of  the  Sea- 
bright  Improvement  Company's  stock,  and  gravely  im 
plied  that  there  was  no  "  estate  "  represented  by  him  in 
such  ownership.  This  imputation  was  met  as  promptly 
as  the  original  slander,  and  these  facts  were  established  : 
That  the  estate  having  interest  in  said  Improvement  Com 
pany  was  that  of  Miss  Louisa  Y.  Swayne  (granddaughter 
of  William  Smith,  the  second  husband  of  General  Fisk's 
mother)  ;  that  the  investment  was  originally  made  by 
General  Fisk  as  guardian,  for  the  double  reason  of  ob 
taining  a  profitable  security  and  of  preventing  the  inn's 
control  by  saloon  purchasers  ;  that  it  had  stood  in  his 
name  at  the  instance  of  the  company's  president,  and  by 
advice  of  the  estate's  attorneys  ;  that  it  was  legally  as 
signed  to  the  estate,  though  no  transfer  had  been  made 
on  the  company's  books  ;  that  Probate  Court  records  of 
Wayne  County,  Mich.,  certified  to  this  ;  that  the  orig 
inal  understanding  of  shareholders  was  that  no  liquor 
should  be  sold  on  the  premises  ;  that  General  Fisk  called 
and  presided  at  the  largest  meeting  ever  convened  in 
Seabright,  to  oppose  the  granting  of  licenses  to  any  hotel 
or  saloon,  and  especially  to  that  ;  and  that  the  managers 
denied  all  charges  of  liquor-selling  and  had  not  conducted 
a  bar  there  at  any  time,  openly  or  otherwise. 


CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES   AND   CALUMNY.  195 

So  conclusive  was  this  final  showing  that  papers  of  the 
opposition  published  it,  absolved  General  Fisk  from 
every  accusation,  and  heartily  indorsed  him  as  a  man 
while  regretting  his  attitude  as  a  Prohibition  candidate. 
In  his  own  town  of  Seabright  there  was  deep  indignation 
expressed  at  an  attack  so  ill-based  and  unjustifiable,  and 
the  opposition  paper  there  made  plain  condemnation  of 
the  petty  spite  and  partisan  malice  which  alone  could  be 
held  responsible  for  the  attack. 

There  were  hints  of  other  calumnies  to  be  set  afloat, 
as  the  campaign  should  come  near  its  close — calumnies 
founded  upon  the  blackmailing  scheme  referred  to  in  a 
previous  chapter  ;  and  it  has  been  said  that  these  were 
actually  in  type  in  the  offices  of  eminently  respectable 
Republican  newspapers  of  Jersey  City  and  New  York, 
to  be  disseminated  at  the  most  opportune  hour  for  serv 
ing  their  party  ends  ;  but,  if  this  be  so,  better  wisdom 
counselled  to  a  wiser  course,  and  the  mud-throwing  ceased 
with  the  Inquirer's  puny  attempt,  of  which  even  its 
own  best  friends  were  heartily  ashamed,  and  which  lead 
ing  Republican  managers  openly  rebuked. 

The  campaign  had  its  pleasantries.  One  of  these  Gen 
eral  Fisk  saw,  in  spite  of  the  solemn  setting  of  it,  in  a 
prayer  made  by  an  aged  preacher  at  the  outset  of  one 
meeting. 

"  O  Lord,"  said  the  fervent  veteran,  lifting  his  hands 
toward  heaven,  "  O  Lord,  Thou  who  didst  see  the 
Son  of  Man  hanging  on  the  cross  between  two  thieves, 
look  now  in  mercy  upon  this  little  State  of  New  Jersey, 
with  New  York  upon  one  side  and  Philadelphia  on  the 
other,  and  grant  us  Thy  deliverance  through  Prohibi 
tion." 

Riding  homeward  one  day,  in  a  Long  Branch  train 
from  New  York,  General  Fisk  shared  his  seat  with  a 


196  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN"   FISK. 

Newark  brewer,  and  their  conversation  drifted  upon 
politics.  General  Fisk  facetiously  asked  the  man  of  beer 
if  he  was  not  going  to  vote  for  him. 

"No,"  said  the  brewer,  with  emphasis;  "I  had 
rather  vote  for  the  devil." 

"Well,"  the  general  answered,  serenely,  "if  your 
party  don' t  take  up  the  devil,  perhaps  I  can  then  count 
on  your  vote  ;"  and  the  crowd  around  had  a  hearty 
laugh  at  this  brewer's  expense. 

On  another  occasion  General  Fisk  was  homeward 
bound  upon  the  Pennsylvania  road  at  an  hour  when 
few  passengers  who  knew  him  were  aboard.  A  talkative 
commercial  traveller  shared  the  same  seat,  and  main 
tained  a  running  fire  of  question  and  comment  as  they 
rode  along.  At  length  the  political  situation  came  up, 
and  the  commercial  traveller  asked  : 

"  The  Prohibition  candidate  for  governor  lives  in  this 
part  of  the  State,  doesn't  he  ?" 

"Yes,"  the  general  answered,  "over  here  on  the 
coast,  at  Seabright." 

"Do  you  happen  to  know  him  ?"  was  the  next 
query. 

"Oh,  yes,"  came  the  answer  ;  "  I  happen  to  know 
him  quite  well." 

"  What  kind  of  a  man  do  you  take  him  to  be  ?" 

"Well,"  said  General  Fisk,  musingly,  "I've  always 
been  inclined  to  think  more  highly  of  him  than  perhaps 
I  should.  There's  a  good  deal  about  him  that's  not  ex 
actly  as  it  ought  to  be." 

"  Seems  to  have  a  pretty  decent  sort  of  reputation, 
don't  he  ?"  said  his  interrogator. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  the  general  answered,  as  if  in  doubt,  "  but 
reputations  don't  amount  to  much  ;  it's  character  that 
counts." 


CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES   AND    CALUMNY.  197 

After  more  talk  of  this  rather  discriminating  kind,  the 
commercial  traveller  inquired  : 

"  How  is  it  that  you  know  so  much  about  the  man  as 
you  seem  to  ?  Are  you  a  neighbor  of  his  ?" 

"  Not  exactly,"  said  the  general  ;  "  but  you  see  his 
wife  is  a  near  friend  of  my  family,  and  she  has  told  me 
a  great  many  things  that  the  public  never  hears  of.  It 
would  be  a  great  deal  better  for  the  general  if  he'd 
always  do  as  she  says." 

Just  then  a  brakeman  shouted  u  Little  Silver  !"  and 
the  train  pulled  up  at  that  modest  station,  where  stood  a 
handsome  turn-out  waiting  for  some  one  to  come — thor 
oughbred  horses,  fine  carriage,  colored  coachman,  and 
a  happy-faced  lady  sitting  on  the  back  seat.  The  gen 
eral  rose,  bade  his  questioner  good-day,  and  left  the  car. 
As  he  made  his  way  briskly  from  it,  the  commercial 
traveller  stepped  also  to  the  platform,  and  seeing  the 
conductor,  asked  : 

"  Whose  carriage  is  that  ?" 

"  General  Fisk's." 

"  And  who  is  the  lady  in  it  ?" 

"Mrs.  Fisk." 

"  Who  is  that  man  ?"  more  eagerly  yet. 

"  That  is  General  Fisk  himself,"  the  conductor  said, 
smiling  a  little. 

"  That  is  General  Fisk  !"  echoed  the  commercial 
traveller.  il  And  he's  been  selling  me  for  the  last 
twenty  miles  !"  he  added,  with  a  mixture  of  chagrin 
and  amusement  ;  while  General  Fisk,  whose  quick  ears 
had  caught  the  dialogue,  entered  his  carriage  laughing, 
and  merrily  recounted  the  incident  to  Mrs.  Fisk  as  they 
rode  the  three  miles  from  Little  Silver  home. 


CHAPTEE  XXVIII. 

THE   NATURAL   RESULTS. 

IT  has  been  said  that  calumny  was  not  so  abundant 
while  his  canvass  went  forward  as  General  Fisk  prophe 
sied.  There  would  have  been  no  dearth  of  it,  if  some 
men  had  but  realized  their  wishes  and  carried  out  their 
will.  One  letter  may  illustrate  this  fact,  and  serve  also 
to  show  up  the  scandalous  methods  of  campaign  politics, 
as  conducted  in  these  days  of  degenerate  party  character 
and  unhallowed  partisan  zeal  : 

"  SOMERVILLE,  N.  J.,  October  16,  1886. 
"  SENECA  N.  TAYLOR,  Esq.  : 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  learn  you  are  President  of  the  Lincoln  Club  of  St. 
Louis.  As  you  probably  know,  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  is  the  candi 
date  on  the  Prohibition  ticket  for  Governor  of  our  State.  I  am  a 
straight  Republican,  and,  if  possible,  desire  the  defeat  of  the  third 
party.  I  learn  some  bad  things  of  General  Fisk,  which,  if  true,  should 
be  published  during  this  campaign,  and  should  leave  him  at  home 
and  reduce  his  power  of  injuring  our  candidate  (B.  F.  Howey).  I 
learn  that  through  the  efforts  of  General  Fisk  and  others  a  military 
organization  was  raised  in  St.  Louis  ;  that  General  Fisk  was  given 
command  ;  one  who  had  assisted  the  general  to  his  office,  with  a 
promise  of  the  favor  of  the  general  afterward,  asked  to  be  made 
quartermaster  ;  the  general  exacted  $500  from  him  for  the  appoint 
ment,  which  was  paid,  and  a  complaint  afterward  made  to  the  author 
ities  against  General  Fisk,  who  was  called  upon  to  answer,  when  he 
ingloriously  left  ;  also,  that  during  the  service  he  was  a  coward, 
crawled  under  a  haystack  upon  one  occasion,  upon  the  appearance 
of  the  enemy.  The  person  who  informed  me  says  these  things  are 
well  known  at  the  former  home  of  General  Fisk,  which,  I  understand, 
was  your  city.  I  wish  to  know  if  you  can  give  me  any  information 


THE   KATURAL   RESULTS.  199 

on  the  subject ;  if  so  it  will  be  very  thankfully  received.     Awaiting 
your  early  reply,  I  remain, 

"Yours  truly, 

"  H.  F.  GALPIN." 

The  early  reply  wanted  was  promptly  sent.  It  ran 
thus  : 

"  ST.  Louis,  October  18,  1886. 
"  H.  F.  GALPIN,  Esq.  : 

' '  DEAR  SIR  :  Yours  of  the  16th  inst.  is  at  hand,  and  contents  noted. 
I  heard  rumors,  years  ago,  of  what  is  indicated  in  your  letter,  but 
personally  did  not  think  them  true.  General  Fisk  stands  well  in 
this  community.  No  intelligent  person  believes  him  guilty  of  these 
charges.  I  will  not  be  a  party  to  circulating  scandalous  reports  to 
defeat  or  elect  any  one.  I  differ  with  General  Fisk  as  to  the  proper 
method  of  remedying  the  evil  of  intemperance,  for  it  is  an  evil. 
Think  it  should  be  done  through  the  Republican  Party.  This,  how 
ever,  is  no  reason  for  slandering  General  Fisk.  I  hope  the  Republi 
can  ticket  may  be  elected  in  your  State,  which  means  the  defeat  of 
the  third  party  ;  yet  it  should  be  done  fairly,  else  not  at  all.  Raking 
up  threadbare  scandals  that  the  community  in  which  they  were  cir 
culated  denounced  as  untrue,  is  not  meeting  the  issue  squarely. 
"  Yours  respectfully, 

"  S.  N.  TAYLOR." 

A  copy  of  this  reply  was  mailed  by  Mr.  Taylor  to  Rev. 
Dr.  C.  P.  Masden,  General  Fisk's  old  St.  Louis  pastor, 
then  in  New  York,  together  with  the  original  letter 
which  called  it  forth.  Through  Dr.  Masden  the  general 
soon  received  it,  and  against  his  desire  it  was  made  pub 
lic.  Replying,  some  days  afterward,  to  a  letter  of  grate 
ful  acknowledgment  from  General  Fisk,  Mr.  Taylor 
said  : 

"  The  gentleman  whose  letter  you  refer  to,  blames  me 
for  allowing  his  to  pass  out  of  my  hands,  but  I  care  not 
for  his  blame.  Sending  it,  as  I  did,  was  in  keeping  with 
the  golden  rule.  For  I  owed  him  no  duty  to  keep  it  a 
secret,  but  owed  it  as  a  duty  to  repel,  and  to  enable  you 
to  refute,  the  wicked  slanders  about  to  be  circulated  to 


200  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEK   FISK. 

injure  your  reputation.  I  am  entitled  to  neither  praise 
nor  blame  in  this  matter,  since  I  simply  performed 
duty." 

"  I  never  heard  of  the  rumors  to  which  reference  was 
made,"  General  Fisk  said  afterward  ;  "  ray  quartermaster 
was  my  warm  personal  friend. ' ' 

The  intimation  of  cowardice  amused  him  very  much, 
and  he  has  often  laughed  over  the  alleged  incident  of 
hiding  under  a  haystack. 

It  was  impossible,  according  to  political  logic,  that 
such  a  campaign  as  the  Prohibitionists  ran  that  year  in 
New  Jersey  should  end  without  some  startling  announce 
ment.  The  very  nomination  of  General  Fisk  had  thrown 
Republican  leaders  into  confusion  ;  his  vigorous  canvass 
had  stirred  public  sympathy  all  over  the  State  ;  the  Pro 
hibition  cause  was  moving  onward  with  cumulative  power 
day  by  day.  In  sheer  desperation  the  Republican  Party 
had  been  compelled  to  declare  for  submission  of  a  Pro 
hibitory  Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  and  for  a 
Local  Option  Law,  in  hopes  that  so  they  might  win 
chance  of  success  ;  but  even  this  did  not  weaken  the 
efforts  of  General  Fisk  and  his  aggressive  followers. 
Clergymen  were  everywhere  coming  over  to  him  ;  the 
temperance  women  were  actively  supporting  him, 
through  their  various  organizations  ;  representative  citi 
zens,  like  Dr.  McCosh,  President  of  Princeton  College, 
were  forsaking  old  party  lines  and  rallying  under  the 
new  party's  flag  ;  and  Republican  defeat  was  inevitable 
unless  a  change  could  be  secured  in  the  drift  of  things. 

This,  too,  when  General  Fisk  had  deprecated  any 
special  attack  upon  that  party  of  his  former  love,  and 
had  himself  spoken  of  it,  and  of  its  leaders,  in  terms  of 
kind  regf»"d. 

"  We    Iriake   no    tfar,"  he  said  to  one   interviewer, 


THE   NATURAL   RESULTS. 

"  upon  any  party,  or  any  persons  connected  with  either 
party.  We  exalt  Prohibition,  and  mass  all  our  force 
against  the  liquor  traffic.  '  Down  with  the  saloon  /•' 
is  our  battle-cry. 

"  I  am  not  in  sympathy,"  he  further  declared,  u  with 
the  utterances  of  some  of  our  friends  who  indulge  in 
bitter  denunciation  of  other  parties  and  party  leaders, 
but  you  must  remember  that  the  provocation  to  do  so  is 
very  great.  We  are  bitterly  denounced  on  many  plat 
forms,  and  in  the  columns  of  many  newspapers,  and  it  is 
no  wonder  that  payment  in  kind  is  often  made.  If 
others  have  anything  to  say  in  advocacy  of  the  saloon, 
by  far  the  most  destructive  force  in  American  society, 
and  the  controlling  force  in  our  politics,  let  them  rise 
and  say  it,  and  not  waste  time  and  talent  in  denuncia 
tion  of  a  party  pledged  to  the  overthrow  of  the  saloon, 
and  the  promotion  of  whatever  in  politics  shall  advance 
the  cause  of  party  purity,  national  honesty,  the  protec 
tion  of  our  industries,  the  proper  adjustment  of  labor  and 
capital,  and  the  upbuilding  of  our  people  in  all  things 
that  will  make  them  better  and  happier.  These  are  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Prohibition,  and  in  all  charity 
we  will  give  them  vigorous  advocacy  until  every  home 
in  this  land  is  made  to  rejoice  in  the  downfall  of  every 
dram-shop." 

All  the  same  it  was  a  recognized  and  admitted  fact 
that  to  advocate  these  doctrines,  even  in  this  way, 
meant  for  both  of  the  old  parties  decrease,  and  for 
one  of  them  defeat.  That  one  Republicans  believed  was 
their  own. 

On  October  20th  there  appeared  in  the  Mail  and 
Express,  of  New  York,  a  telegraphic  despatch  from 
Trenton,  announcing  the  rumored  early  withdrawal  of 
General  Fisk  in  favor  of  Mr.  Howey,  the  Republican 


202  LIFE  OF  CLINTOK  BOWEtf  FISK. 

candidate  for  governor,  and  adding  that  anti-Sewell 
Republicans  were  pledged,  in  return  for  this  action  of 
General  Fisk,  to  vote  for  him  for  United  States  Senator 
at  the  next  legislative  session.  This  despatch  made  some 
local  stir,  but  failed  wholly  of  its  purpose.  Other  metro 
politan  papers  contradicted  it,  the  same  day  and  the 
next ;  the  Daily  Voice  nailed  it  as  a  campaign  canard 
within  one  hour  after  it  saw  print.  It  did  not  send  the 
converted  Democrats  back  from  Prohibition  to  their  old 
faith,  as  was  expected  ;  it  did  not  stampede  the  growing 
Prohibition  ranks. 

"  I  will  be  a  candidate  until  the  polls  close  on  election 
day,"  said  General  Fisk  ;  and  all  who  knew  him  knew 
he  would. 

His  final  speech  of  the  campaign  was  made  October 
29th,  at  Bordentown.  For  weeks  he  had  traversed  New 
Jersey,  and  been  met  with  enthusiastic  welcome  by  men 
of  all  parties  and  creeds,  who  delighted  thus  to  honor 
him  as  a  man  though  they  might  not  all  support  him  as 
a  candidate.  He  had  grown  familiar  with  great  crowds 
gathered  to  see  and  hear  him.  But  his  last  reception 
showed  no  falling  off  in  public  interest,  no  lapse  in 
the  enthusiasm  of  Prohibition  workers,  though  stormy 
weather  accompanied.  As  he  stepped  from  the  Phila 
delphia  train,  at  6.30  P.M.,  he  was  greeted  by  Winkler's 
full  Seventh  Regiment  band,  the  uniformed  cadets  from 
the  Bordentown  Military  Academy,  the  city  Prohibition 
Club,  and  hundreds  of  citizens,  who  joined  in  saluting 
him  with  music,  and  fireworks,  and  ringing  cheers. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  opera-house  was  densely  thronged, 
and  on  its  platform  were  the  leading  men  of  Bordentown 
— Professor  Longen,  President  of  the  Military  Academy  ; 
Professor  McFarland,  Principal  of  Public  Schools,  and 
others  of  like  local  eminence.  The  applause  as  General 


THE  NATURAL  RESULTS.  203 

Fisk  entered  was  tremendous,  and  lie  received  an  ovation 
when  he  came  forward  to  speak.  Despite  his  long  can 
vass,  and  the  steady  strain  upon  him,  he  showed  little 
wear,  and  his  rich,  mellow  voice  was  well  preserved. 
Among  other  things,  he  said  : 

"  Five  months  ago,  at  that  most  remarkable  political  convention 
ever  held  in  New  Jersey,  the  Prohibitionists  of  our  commonwealth 
began  their  campaign  for  1886.  The  utterances  of  our  convention 
on  all  great  questions  of  governmental  policy,  State  and  national, 
were  clear  and  forcible.  We  acknowledged  Almighty  God  as  the 
rightful  Sovereign  of  all  men  ;  that  from  Him  the  great  powers  of 
government  are  derived,  and  that  to  His  laws  all  human  enactments 
should  conform  as  an  absolute  condition  of  peace,  prosperity,  and 
happiness.  We  declared  that  the  liquor  traffic,  sanctioned  and  pro 
tected  by  law,  was  the  gigantic  crime  of  crimes,  the  chief  source  of 
sorrow,  the  arch  enemy  of  labor,  the  foe  of  industry,  the  destroyer 
of  private  and  public  virtue,  the  great  fountain  of  political  corrup 
tion,  the  parent  of  sedition,  anarchy,  vice,  and  social  and  industrial 
disorder.  We  declared  that  the  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic  has 
become  the  supreme  political  as  well  as  moral  issue  of  these  times. 
We  reaffirmed  our  allegiance  to  the  National  Prohibition  Party.  We 
declared  ourselves  for  both  State  and  national  Prohibition  of  the 
importation,  manufacture,  and  sale  of  all  alcoholic  beverages,  and  for 
the  enforcement  thereof  by  appropriate  legislation,  administered  by 
officials  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  same.  We  expressed  our 
hearty  sympathy  with  every  proper  effort  of  the  wage-earner  to  im 
prove  his  moral,  social,  and  financial  condition,  yet  declared  that 
total  abstinence  for  the  individual  and  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor 
traffic  by  the  State  lie  at  the  threshold  of  labor  reform. 

"  We  demanded  the  enactment  of  laws  requiring  that  our  children 
be  instructed  in  the  public  schools  on  the  evils  wrought  on  the  sys 
tem  by  stimulants  and  narcotics.  We  pledged  ourselves  that  by  pre 
cept  and  example  we  would  do  our  utmost  to  preserve  the  sanctity 
of  the  Sabbath.  That  convention,  with  one  heart  and  voice,  called 
upon  every  good  man  and  woman  in  New  Jersey  to  rise  up  and  go 
forth  to  battle  against  the  unparalleled  crime  of  Christendom,  the 
fruitful  mother  of  evils  multiplied  and  monstrous.  Five  months 
have  been  given  to  educational  forces.  Our  large  mass-meetings  held 
in  every  county,  the  smaller  meetings  in  nearly  every  hamlet  of  the 
State,  the  voice  of  the  press,  and  the  dissemination  of  literature  have 


204  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN"   FISK. 

aroused  thousands  of  our  citizens,  and  startled  them  into  compre 
hension  of  the  increasing  enormities  of  the  liquor  traffic.  The  best 
men  of  both  the  old  parties  are  nocking  to  our  standard  all  over  the 
State. 

"  We  are  in  the  closing  hours  of  the  campaign.  At  Bordentown  is 
my  last  engagement  to  speak  for  our  cause.  Our  forces  are  in  battle 
array  for  the  conflict  on  Tuesday  next.  We  will  on  that  day  by  our 
votes  declare  for  sobriety  and  temperance,  social  order,  virtue,  peace, 
prosperity,  and  happiness  for  home  and  country,  or  the  weight  of  our 
influence  as  citizens  will  be  thrown  for  the  perpetuation  of  the 
American  saloon  with  all  its  barbarism  and  crime.  Shall  we  for  a 
moment  hesitate  to  stand  for  truth  and  righteousness  ?  Falter  not, 
but  rally  as  one  man  to  the  polls  on  Tuesday  morning.  See  that  our 
every  vote  is  cast  and  counted. 

"  Our  great  chieftain,  General  Grant,  with  lifted  sword  and  waving 
crest,  rode  along  the  lines  at  Cold  Harbor  and  gave  the  command  : 
'  Rally  on  the  centre  !  Forward,  and  open  fire  with  every  gun  ! ' 
The  Union  forces,  in  obedience  to  that  command,  moved  like  an 
avalanche  upon  the  enemy,  carrying  destruction,  defeat,  total  rout 
and  death  into  the  ranks  of  the  rebel  forces,  and  victory  rang  through 
the  air.  The  centre  upon  which  we  are  to  rally  and  rely  is  the  ballot- 
box.  The  occasion  for  public  address  will  for  the  time  have  ended,  but 
every  man  and  woman  pledged  to  our  good  cause  can  secure  an  audi 
ence  of  one  voter,  and  by  invitation,  persuasion,  and  entreaty  secure 
that  one  more  ballot  for  the  redemption  of  our  land  from  the  domi 
nation  of  the  grog-shop.  Let  our  increased  vote  in  New  Jersey  be  an 
inspiration  to  our  friends  throughout  the  land.  God  speed  the  day 
of  victory  !" 

The  "  increased  vote  "  was  "  an  inspiration  "  to  Pro 
hibitionists  the  country  over.  It  showed  the  largest  pro 
portion  of  party  Prohibition  ballots  cast  up  to  that  time 
in  any  State — nearly  nine  per  cent.  In  1883  the  Pro 
hibition  candidate  for  governor  had  a  trifle  over  four 
thousand  votes  ;  in  1884  the  St.  John  vote  was  about  six 
thousand  ;  General  Fisk's  total,  as  counted  and  returned, 
was  19,808.  He  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket  uniformly,  and 
in  some  counties  largely.  By  his  character,  and  his 
canvass,  he  had  lifted  the  Prohibition  cause  of  New 
Jersey  breast-high  in  public  consideration,  and  com- 


THE   NATURAL   RESULTS.  205 

pelled  for  it  henceforward  the  respect  of  all  candid 
men. 

In  his  own  county  of  Monmouth,  always  Democratic, 
he  drew  so  heavily  from  that  party  that  a  Republican 
plurality  resulted  ;  and  in  eight  other  counties  the  Re 
publicans  won  by  pluralities  smaller  than  the  Prohibition 
vote.  In  three  counties  this  was  true  of  the  Demo 
crats  ;  making  twelves  counties  out  of  twenty-one  in 
which  Prohibitionists  held  the  balance  of  power,  while 
the  State  at  large  gave  them  the  balance  of  power  by 
over  eleven  thousand.  Said  one  paper  : 

"  The  Prohibition  Party  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
General  Fisk  which  it  can  never  pay.  He  gave  to  it  the 
service  of  the  most  magnificent  canvass  ever  made  in  the 
State,  and  the  party  has  been  put  upon  its  feet  to  stay 
by  the  grand  work  of  General  Fisk." 

To  a  reporter  for  the  New  York  Voice,  who  called  on 
him  a  day  or  two  after  election,  General  Fisk  said  : 

"  The  result  is  simply  magnificent.  The  foundations 
are  now  permanently  laid  on  which  to  build  a  conquer 
ing  party.  .  .  .  Never  were  men  more  true  than  those 
in  the  rank  and  file  of  New  Jersey's  Prohibition  host. 
Our  friends  were  more  than  willing  to  stand  and  be 
counted,  in  a  minority  large  or  small,  that  they  might 
build  sure  foundations  on  which  to  stand  as  a  majority  in 
the  not  far-distant  future.  We  have  every  reason  to  re 
joice  at  the  outlook,  to  thank  God,  take  courage,  and  go 
forward. 

"  The  result  in  my  own  town  is  very  gratifying. 
Here,  where  last  year  we  polled  only  twenty-eight  votes, 
this  year  I  received  three  hundred.  We  could  easily 
have  elected  three  or  four  legislators  in  the  State  had  we 
been  willing  to  bargain,  but  our  people  stood  squarely 
on  the  issue  of  Prohibition,  and  refused  all  offers  of 


206  LIFE   OF   CLIHT02T   BOWES"   FISK. 

'  deals. '  In  one  county  we  drew  so  heavily  from  the 
Democrats  that  two  Republican  legislators  were  elected. 
More  Democrats  than  Republicans  voted  with  us  in  this 
county  of  Mon mouth. 

"  The  outlook  was  never  so  hopeful  and  inspiring  as 
now.  Indications  all  point  to  a  vote  of  at  least  five 
hundred  thousand  for  a  Prohibition  President  in  1888, 
with  possibility  of  many  more." 

Who  the  next  Presidential  candidate  of  the  Prohibi 
tion  Party  should  be,  that  New  Jersey  campaign  fairly 
well  established. 

"If  we  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,"  one  editor 
soon  declared,  "  General  Fisk  is  the  coming  man.  He 
developed  great  strength  in  his  recent  canvass  in  New 
Jersey  as  Prohibition  candidate  for  governor.  He  has 
made  a  fine  record,  and  he  commands  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  the  people.  He  has  silenced  the  tongue  of 
political  slander,  and  established  his  title  clear  to  the  dis 
tinction  of  a  Christian  gentleman.  He  went  through 
the  New  Jersey  campaign  with  flying  colors.  He  held 
aloft  the  Prohibition  banner  throughout  the  contest, 
never  faltering  for  an  instant.  He  has  come  out  of  the 
fight  without  even  the  smell  of  fire  upon  his  garments. 
We  lay  no  claim  to  the  gift  of  prophecy,  but  we  have  no 
hesitation  in  predicting  that  General  Fisk  will  be  the 
Prohibition  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1888." 

This  editorial  utterance  seems  to  have  been  suggested 
by  an  interview  with  Rev.  A.  B.  Leonard,  D.D.,  whose 
canvass  in  Ohio  the  year  previous  had  approximated 
General  Fisk's,  and  who  had  become  nationally  conspicu 
ous  on  account  of  it.  That  interview  was  given  in  the 
Evening  Post,  and  accredited  to  Dr.  Leonard  this 
remark  : 

"  Clinton  B.   Fisk,  of  New  Jersey,  is  my  candidate 


THE   NATURAL   RESULTS.  207 

for  President  in  1888.  He  is  the  strongest  man  in  the 
country — is  widely  known,  is  popular,  is  able,  is  clean. 
Nothing  could  be  said  against  him  in  his  campaign  but 
that  was  immediately  proven  false.  He  is  more  popular 
with  the  colored  people  of  the  South  than  any  other 
living  man.  He  will,  beyond  a  doubt,  be  our  candidate 
for  President,  with  a  Southern  man  for  Vice-President  ; 
and  he  will  get  a  big  vote  too  !" 

Similar  expressions  became  frequent  in  the  Prohibition 
Party  press,  and  from  the  lips  of  other  trusted  Prohibi 
tion  leaders.  The  voice  of  twenty  thousand  New  Jersey 
homes  had  been  heard  across  the  continent. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


THE  spring  of  1887  saw  a  mightier  contest  than  had 
before  been  waged  for  State  Prohibition  by  Constitu 
tional  Amendment.  It  was  fought  between  the  moral 
and  the  immoral  forces  of  Michigan,  and  the  respective 
allies  on  both  sides.  Similar  contests  had  been  success 
ful  in  Kansas,  in  Iowa,  in  Maine,  and  Rhode  Island, 
and  another  had  well-nigh  won  in  Ohio  ;  but  neither  of 
those  brought  into  full  activity  all  the  fighting  hosts  of 
the  liquor  traffic,  and  all  the  reserves  which  it  could 
command,  as  did  the  Michigan  campaign. 

At  its  beginning  General  Fisk  wrote  a  public  letter, 
to  his  friends  in  that  State,  urging  earnest  effort  for  the 
Prohibitory  Amendment.  He  did  not  feel  sure  that  he 
could  take  part  himself  ;  for  his  own  late  campaign  had 
told  severely  upon  him,  and  he  did  not  rally  as  he  wished 
from  the  reaction  which  had  ensued.  But  his  heart 
went  out  warmly  to  those  who  had  inaugurated  the  battle, 
and  were  pressing  it  on  as  best  they  could — to  the  noble 
men  and  women  who  stood  up  bravely  for  home,  and 
commonwealth,  and  God.  They  were  a  royal  legion, 
led  by  Professor  Samuel  Dickie,  of  Albion  College — that 
institution  so  linked  with  all  General  Fisk's  memories  of 
his  young  manhood — and  by  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Lathrap, 
President  of  the  Michigan  W.  C.  T.  IL,  who  had  ren 
dered  signal  service  in  New  Jersey  the  season  previous. 
Reasons  of  personal  regard  and  association  alone  would 


MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN.  209 

have  made  the  general  eager  to  assist  ;  added  to  these 
were  the  love  he  still  bore  the  State  where  so  much  was 
at  issue,  and  the  greater  love  he  felt  for  a  great  and  holy 
cause. 

And  every  able-bodied  man  was  needed — he  knew 
that.  The  liquor  traffic  of  other  States  was  pouring 
mjoney  without  stint  into  Michigan.  Potent  political  in 
fluences  were  being  brought  to  bear  to  maintain  the 
saloon.  Party  necessities  were  invoked,  professional 
ambitions  were  appealed  to,  the  greed  of  gain  was 
aroused,  the  varied  forms  of  human  selfishness  were 
played  upon — all,  that  Prohibition  might  be  beaten  at 
the  focal  point  of  government  ;  that  the  purest  concerns 
of  society  might  be  smitten  down,  while  the  brothel,  the 
gambling  hell,  and  the  saloon  should  continue  and  mul 
tiply.  Such  desperation  on  the  part  of  organized  evil 
had  not  previously  been  seen,  nor,  it  may  be  said,  such 
open  success  in  the  efforts  of  evil  to  ally  itself  with  good, 
and  to  seek  respectability  through  such  alliance.  Had 
it  been  a  conflict  simply  between  moral  forces  and  im. 
moral,  nobody  would  have  doubted  the  result  ;  but  im. 
morality  won  to  its  help  the  selfishness  of  moral  men,  th{ 
partisanship  of  political  managers,  the  business  interest! 
of  a  great  multitude,  the  organized  cupidity  of  State  anc 
nation,  and  facing  this  array  the  friends  of  Prohibition 
might  well  fear  defeat,  and  appeal  for  reinforcements. 

These  latter  came  from  many  States  ;  not  in  vast 
sums  of  money,  as  contributed  by  the  liquor  trade  in 
opposition,  but  in  literature  adapted  to  the  time,  and  in 
platform  talent  consecrated  unselfishly  to  this  great  re 
form.  The  month  of  March  witnessed  "  Amendment  " 
meetings  all  over  Michigan,  from  Detroit  to  Marquette, 
where  with  prayer,  and  song,  and  speech,  the  lovers  of 
God  and  home  persuasively  sought  to  win  adherents  for 


210  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

the, right.  Every  night  the  watchfires  of  truth  blazed 
in  a  thousand  places  between  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan, 
and  Superior,  and  around  them  able  advocates  reasoned 
of  temperance,  righteousness,  and  a  fearful  judgment 
to  come  if  these  were  not  henceforth  to  prevail. 

With  other  able  helpers,  the  Silver  Lake  Quartette 
went  to  Michigan  from  New  York,  a  group  of  singers 
and  speakers  since  become  well  known  throughout  the 
country.  To  spare  himself  undue  expenditure  of  vital 
energy,  and  because  he  so  realized  the  power  of  music 
along  reformative  moral  and  political  lines,  General  Fisk 
volunteered  a  series  of  appointments  in  company  with 
this  quartette,  and  filled  them  with  but  a  single  break. 
So  familiar  was  his  name  all  over  the  State,  and  so  uni 
versally  was  he  respected  by  men  of  all  political  creeds, 
that  great  numbers  came  to  every  meeting  ;  and  his  ad 
dresses  were  always  in  happy  mood,  with  no  harsh  ar 
raignment  of  any  one,  though  severely  condemning  the 
saloon. 

He  joined  the  quartette  at  Adrian,  in  his  old  home 
county  of  Lenawee,  where  an  afternoon  and  an  evening 
meeting  were  held,  at  each  of  which  he  spoke.  Monroe 
enjoyed  his  presence  next  day,  and,  as  at  Adrian,  the 
hall  was  filled  to  suffocation.  Other  notable  gatherings 
were  at  Detroit,  Ann  Arbor,  Albion,  Coldwater,  and 
Hillsdale  ;  and  everywhere  his  persuasive  manner,  his 
Christian  courtesy,  his  noble  bearing,  won  friends  for 
the  cause.  Afternoon  and  evening,  throngs  came  to 
listen,  many  driving  long  distances,  and  went  away 
thrilled  by  the  sentiments  uttered  in  speech  and  song. 

The  general's  keen  zest  for  music  made  those  days  less 
wearing  upon  him  than  otherwise  they  might  have  been  ; 
and  he  often  recalled  that  first  quartette  he  ever  heard, 
when  as  a  Birney  boy  in  Clinton  he  bore  the  Birney  flag. 


MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN.  211 

One  song  he  daily  called  for,  written  by  the  quartette 
for  this  campaign,  and  it  never  failed  to  stir  the  audience 
to  responsive  enthusiasm.  The  words  ran  thus  : 

"  Come,  ye  Christian  fathers  who've  been  praying  for  the  right, 
For  God,  and  home,  and  native  land  now  make  a  gallant  fight. 
Stand  for  Prohibition  till  the  foe  is  put  to  flight, — 
Surely  we're  marching  to  victory. 

CHORUS. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  we'll  shout  the  jubilee  ; 
Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  from  rum  we  will  be  free  ; 
So  we'll  sing  the  chorus  from  Detroit  to  Manistee,— 
Surely  we're  marching  to  victory. 

"  Come,  ye  manly  brothers  who  have  sisters  to  protect, 
Rally  to  the  ranks  of  those  with  home's  blue  ribbon  decked  ; 
Swear  that  lives  no  more  shall  be  bylaw's  permission  wrecked, — 
Surely  we're  marching  to  victory. 

"  Come,  ye  tipsy  topers  from  the  bars  that  we  would  ban, 
Cease  to  paint  your  noses  on  the  danger  signal  plan, 
Wear  the  temperance  colors  each,  and  vote  to  be  a  man,— 
Surely  we're  marching  to  victory. 

"  Don't  you  hear  the  word  of  cheer  go  ringing  down  the  lines? 
Don't  you  catch  the  music  in  the  whisper  of  your  pines  ? 
Listen  to  the  echo  from  your  busy  northern  mines, — 
Surely  we're  marching  to  victory." 

The  most  important  appointments  of  General  Fisk,  in 
some  respects,  were  at  Detroit,  on  Saturday  and  Sunday, 
March  26th  and  27th.  Saturday  night's  meeting  was  an 
immense  affair — though  hastily  arranged  to  counteract 
the  influences  resulting  from  one  conducted  by  the  liquor 
side,  a  few  nights  earlier,  in  that  city,  and  addressed  by 
two  eminently  respectable  gentlemen — Mr.  D.  Bethune 
Duffield  and  Professor  Kent.  It  was  held  in  Beecher's 
Hall,  which  overflowed  with  people,  so  intense  had  pub 
lic  interest  become.  The  chief  address,  and  a  most 


212  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf    FISK. 

masterly  one,  was  made  by  Mr.  John  B.  Finch,  whose 
incisive  logic  left  no  shred  of  argument  for  Messrs.  Kent 
and  Duffield  to  stand  upon.  General  Fisk  followed  Mr. 
Finch — always  a  difficult  thing  for  any  one  to  do,  and 
more  than  ever  difficult  that  night — and  admirably  sus 
tained  the  tone  and  temper  of  a  meeting  never  to  be  for 
gotten  by  any  man  present.  His  good-natured  thrusts 
at  Messrs.  Duffield  and  Kent  were  almost  as  cutting  as 
the  stabs  of  the  javelin  hurled  by  Mr.  Finch. 

With  sweeping  effect  he  reminded  them  how  in  Jan 
uary,  1861,  when  treason  was  rampant  in  the  land,  he 
listened  eagerly  for  some  word  of  cheer  from  his  old 
State  ;  how  a  great  meeting  was  held  then  in  Detroit, 
where  loyal  men  gathered  for  counsel  ;  and  how  one 
voice,  in  tones  of  conservative  fear,  urged  that  the  coun 
try  should  keep  hands  off  the  question  of  slavery,  be 
cause  of  slavery's  great  power  and  our  national  inability 
to  put  it  away.  "  That  voice,"  he  declared,  "  was  D. 
Bethune  Duffield 's,  who  now  comes  before  a  vast  audi 
ence  to  insist  that  the  liquor  traffic  must  be  maintained 
through  a  tax  system,  because  Prohibition,  as  he  affirms, 
cannot  be  enforced." 

Next  day,  at  an  afternoon  meeting  in  the  Detroit 
Opera  House,  General  Fisk  was  the  leading  speaker,  and 
his  address  rang  clear  and  powerful  with  Christian  patri 
otism.  Through  a  bleak  March  storm  of  snow  and  sleet 
more  than  two  thousand  people  had  come  to  hear  him, 
and  they  were  not  disappointed.  He  was  serene  yet 
severe,  and  his  denunciation  of  those  church  members, 
and  even  clergymen,  who  proposed  to  stand  by  the  saloon, 
was  not  less  scathing  because  uttered  in  such  calm,  un- 
impassioned  language  ;  and  it  made  a  deep  impression  on. 
all.  With  sweet  charity,  but  uncompromising  condem 
nation,  he  assailed  that  moral  blindness  which  would  per- 


MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN.  213 

mit  moral  men  to  advocate  an  immorality  for  the  revenue 
it  might  yield  ;  and  there,  as  elsewhere,  he  declared 
against  the  sin  and  crime  of  a  license  system,  and  fast 
ened  home  upon  Christian  men  the  awful  responsibility 
of  its  maintenance. 

"  High  License,"  he  said,  u  is  the  white  flag  of  truce 
sent  out  by  the  alcoholic  hosts  to  obtain  a  halt  until  they 
can  get  their  demoralized  forces  marshalled  once  again  ;" 
and  he  attacked  the  tax  policy  of  Michigan  as  altogether 
wrong,  unjust,  and  criminal,  and  utterly  unworthy  a 
great  Christian  commonwealth. 

So  convincing  were  the  addresses  of  General  Fisk, 
here  and  elsewhere,  and  so  widespread  was  his  influence 
against  liquor,  that  anti-Prohibition  managers  felt  the 
necessity  of  discounting  his  work  in  every  possible  way. 
The  character  of  their  cause  would  permit,  if  not  justify, 
any  depth  of  malice,  of  falsehood,  of  indecency.  And 
as  the  campaign  drew  near  its  close,  with  Prohibition 
sentiment  gaining  every  hour  and  Prohibition  success 
grown  almost  certain,  their  desperation  snatched  at 
whatever  means  vile  ingenuity  could  invent  and  unblush 
ing  audacity  employ,  to  serve  their  unrighteous  ends. 
Through  certain  unprincipled  newspaper  columns  in 
Detroit,  they  disseminated,  with  considerable  circum 
stantiality  of  statement,  a  story  of  drinking  indulgence 
by  General  Fisk,  on  a  former  visit  there,  which  no  one 
who  knew  him  would  for  a  moment  believe,  but  which, 
as  they  foresaw,  might  gain  brief  credence  among  the 
great  voting  mass  to  whom  he  was  personally  unknown. 

It  was  met  by  instant  telegraphic  denial  from  the  gen 
eral,  and  by  him  stamped  as  "  a  most  infamous  lie,  wor 
thy  of  the  saloon  advocates  and  their  associates,  indicated 
in  Eevelation  22  :  15." 

The  passage  referred  to  reads  : 


214  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEtf   FISK. 

"  For  without  are  dogs,  and  sorcerers,  and  whoremongers,  and 
murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie." 

This  vigorous  Bible  delineation  of  their  true  char 
acter  enraged  the  enemy  still  more,  and  they  repeated 
their  attack,  with  added  virulence  and  wrath,  and  re 
fused  to  print  the  final  message  of  explanation  and  denial 
sent  them  in  answer  by  General  Fisk.  In  this  message, 
forwarded  from  Albion,  April  2d,  the  general  told  pre 
cisely  how  and  why  he  once  paid  for  a  night  lunch  eaten 
by  four  newspaper  men  of  Detroit,  of  which  he  did  not 
remain  to  partake,  and  added  : 

"  The  statement  that  1  ordered  champagne  for  any 
one,  that  I  drank  that  or  any  other  kind  of  liquor,  is  un 
true.  No  liquors  were  ordered  and  drank  by  any  of  the 
party  to  my  knowledge.  I  have  been  much  abused  and 
misrepresented  since  I  entered  the  fight  against  the 
saloon,  but  have  never  been  called  a  fool.  If  I  could 
have  said  and  done  what  Mr.  Ireland  states,  then,  indeed, 
I  would  have  been  both  foolish  and  wicked. ' ' 

Though  this  denial  was  not  allowed  publication  in  the 
same  columns  which  had  called  it  forth,  other  papers 
published  it,  and  the  slander  fell  flat  at  once. 

Then  one  Thompson,  referred  to  by  a  Detroit  daily  as 
"  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  arranged  with  Messrs. 
Duffield  and  Kent  for  the  efficient  work  which  they  have 
done,"  after  predicting  the  defeat  of  Prohibition  by 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  votes,  made  statements 
which  found  widespread  repetition  in  this  despatch  to  the 
Few  York  Tribune,  April  3d  : 

"A  sensation  was  created  this  evening  by  the  publication  of  an 
interview  with  W.  G.  Thompson,  a  Democratic  politician,  in  which 
he  asserts  that  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  who  is  the  chief  campaigner 
of  the  Prohibitionists,  stumped  the  State  of  New  York  in  1884  for  St. 
John  in  the  pay  of  the  Democratic  Party.  Mr.  Thompson  avers  that 
he  possesses  personal  knowledge  of -the  truth  of  his  statement." 


MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN.  215 

To  which  despatch  General  Fisk  made  the  following 
pithy  reply,  published  in  the  Tribune  of  April  7th  : 

"  The  hotly-contested  Michigan  campaign  for  the  Prohibition 
Amendment  brought  to  the  surface  a  large  number  of  the  tribe  of 
Ananias.  This  man  Thompson,  the  leader  of  the  Hum  Democracy 
in  Detroit,  does  special  credit  to  his  ancestor.  I  did  not  make  a 
speech  in  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  St.  John  campaign  of  1884. 
No  Democrat,  no  Republican,  no  Prohibitionist,  ever  paid  me  a  cent 
for  making  a  speech  in  the  State  of  New  York  or  any  other  State. " 

The  more  decent  friends  of  Mr.  Thompson  felt  like 
subscribing  in  his  behalf  to  the  truth  of  Josh  Billings's 
affirmation — "  It's  a  great  deal  better  not  to  know  so 
much,  than  to  know  so  many  things  that  ain't  so." 

If  the  Michigan  campaign  had  continued  a  week 
longer,  there's  no  telling  what  further  lies  General  Fisk 
would  have  had  promulgated  about  him.  But  it  ended 
April  4th,  with  two  splendid  meetings  at  Hillsdale,  fol 
lowing  two  of  like  size  and  spirit  at  Coldwater.  And  at 
each  of  these  places,  as  at  Albion,  on  the  2d,  former 
neighbors  and  friends  of  the  general  turned  out  en  masse 
to  greet  him,  while  an  overflow  meeting  became  neces 
sary  at  his  old  home,  because  the  large  Methodist  church 
there  could  not  accommodate  all  who  came.  At  Albion, 
and  at  Hillsdale,  the  college  faculties  honored  him  by 
their  presence  and  their  welcoming  words. 

At  these  Amendment  meetings,  to  illustrate  the  fixed 
and  fearless  attitude  which  ministers  of  Christ  should 
maintain  toward  the  liquor  traffic,  and  the  unyielding 
Christian  courage  requisite  thereto,  General  Fisk  several 
times  related  this  incident  : 

"  I  came  across  a  young  man  last  year  up  near  the  Delaware  Water 
Gap  who  had  just  such  courage.  Up  there  near  the  Water  Gap,  in 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  is  a  beautiful  village,  where  many  people 
from  New  York,  Newark,  and  Jersey  City,  have  their  summer  homes. 
Just  in  the  side  of  the  mountain  are  two  little  churches,  a  Presby- 


216  LIFE   OF   CLINTOX    BOWEN    FISK. 

terian  church  and  a  Methodist  church.  The  young  man  had  been 
sent  over  from  the  Philadelphia  Conference  to  preach  in  the  Method 
ist  church,  and  the  official  brethren  had  the  usual  meeting  to  esti 
mate  his  salary.  A  good  many  of  you,  brethren,  have  sat  in  such 
councils.  They  fixed  his  salary  at  a  thousand  dollars,  a  large  com 
pensation,  he  thought.  And  then  they  began  to  post  him  about  the 
peculiarities  of  the  church  ;  and  about  this  family  and  that  family, 
so  that  he  might  know  just  how  to  manage  affairs  and  go  along 
smoothly.  Then  they  further  said  to  him  : 

"  '  Now,  in  the  summer-time  a  good  many  foreigners— people  from 
the  city— come  to  our  little  church.  One  of  the  richest  brewers  of 
Newark  sits  here  in  the  summer-time  in  one  of  our  best  pews,  and 
pays  fifty  dollars  a  year  toward  the  salary.  He  drives  the  finest 
carriage  that  comes  up  to  our  little  village.  His  wife  dresses  beauti 
fully,  his  daughters  more  so,  and  his  sons  are  perfect  patterns. 
Now,  then,  while  he  is  in  the  church,  we  would  like  to  have  you  go  a 
little  slow  on  the  temperance  question.  Don't  say  anything  about 
the  liquor  traffic.  Preach  about  the  Mormons  or  the  Lost  Tribes — 
anything  but  that,  or  we  shall  lose  his  presence  among  us  and  his 
fifty  dollars,  and  we  rather  like  to  have  him  drive  his  carriage  to  our 
little  church — monogram  on  the  carriage-door,  footman  and  groom 
on  the  carriage,  harness  beautiful — nothing  that  goes  to  the  Presby 
terian  church  is  anything  like  it,  and  we  want  to  keep  it.' 

"  The  young  man  scratched  his  head  a  little.  He  had  been  edu 
cated  at  the  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  where  they  teach  that  to 
preach  against  intemperance  is  one  of  the  things  to  do  everywhere  and 
anywhere.  He  rose  to  his  feet,  and  the  presiding  elder  told  me  that 
as  he  began  to  straighten  up,  he  looked  to  be  about  eleven  feet  high. 

"  '  Now,'  he  said,  '  brethren,  what  did  you  fix  this  salary  at?' 

"  '  A  thousand  dollars.' 

"  '  You  just  take  fifty  dollars  off.  I  mast  have  a  shot  at  that  party 
the  first  thing.1 

"  And  they  could  not  persuade  him  out  of  it.  Just  think  of  the 
stubborn  fellow  !  By  and  by  the  beautiful  June  days  came,  and 
among  those  who  stopped  at  the  little  Methodist  church  on  the  hill 
side  came  the  brewer,  with  a  brand-new  carriage,  everything  better 
and  brighter  than  ever  before.  He  and  his  family  filed  into  the  pew. 
What  should  this  young  man  do  but  open  the  Bible,  and  for  about 
an  hour  he  poured  out  on  that  audience  all  the  woes  that  God  had 
pronounced  against  the  men  that  put  the  bottle  to  their  neighbors' 
lips.  One  of  the  stewards  told  me  that  the  ceiling  of  the  little  church 
was  fairly  blistered  before  noon.  Well,  now,  what  was  the  result  ? 


MICHIGAN'S  AMENDMENT  CAMPAIGN.  217 

Why,  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  this  brewer  came  forward  to  the  altar 
and  took  this  young  man  by  the  hand,  and  said,  '  Do  you  know  me  ?' 
'  Yes,  sir.'  '  Did  you  know  my  business  ? '  '  Yes.'  '  Did  you  know 
I  was  a  brewer?  '  '  Yes.'  '  Did  you  preach  that  sermon  for  me?  ' 
*  For  you  only.'  '  Well,  now,'  said  he,  '  I  like  the  courage  of  a  man 
that  will  do  that.'  Says  he, '  Give  us  your  hand.  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  giving  fifty  dollars  a  year  to  this  church.  I  will  give  you  a 
hundred  dollars. '  You  see  the  brewer  was  a  man  of  common  sense. 
The  official  brethren  had  looked  upon  him  as  a  man  only  of  dollars 
and  cents." 

The  Michigan  campaign  ended,  but  prayer,  and  song, 
and  speech  did  not  prevail.  The  work  of  godly  women, 
the  efforts  of  loyal  Christian  men,  could  not  withstand 
partisan  trickery,  organized  appetite,  banded  agencies  of 
disorder,  the  indifference  of  the  church,  and  the  selfish 
ness  of  sin.  And  having  given  nearly  a  month  of  his 
time,  as  freely  of  his  means,  and  with  unchecked  liber 
ality  of  his  energies,  to  the  sacred  cause  of  a  common 
wealth  very  dear  to  him,  General  Fisk  returned  home 
regretful  that  once  again  right  was  defeated,  and  wrong 
triumphant,  but  conscious  that  his  own  duty  had  been 
fully  done.  And  with  brave  Gerald  Massey  he  could  sing  : 

"  Our  hearts  brood  o'er  the  past  ;  our  eyes 

With  shining  futures  glisten  ; 
Lo  !  now  the  dawn  bursts  up  the  skies — 

Lean  out  your  souls  and  listen  ! 
The  earth  rolls  Freedom's  radiant  way, 

And  ripens  with  our  sorrow, 
And  'tis  the  martyrdom  to-day 

Brings  victory  to-morrow  ! 

*'  'Tis  weary  watching  wave  on  wave, 

And  yet  the  tide  heaves  onward  ; 
We  climb  like  corals  grave  on  grave, 

And  build  a  path  that's  sunward. 
We're  beaten  back  in  many  a  fray, 

Yet  newer  strength  we  borrow, 
And  where  our  vanguard  camps  to-day 

Our  rear  shall  rest  to-morrow.  " 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

INEVITABLE    LEADERSHIP. 

IF  any  further  proof  were  needed  of  the  necessity  for 
a  National  Prohibition  Party,  and  of  his  wisdom  in  ally 
ing  himself  therewith,  General  Fisk  found  it  in  that 
Michigan  campaign,  "  non-partisan  "  as  it  was  averred 
to  be,  and  in  similar  results  following  similar  campaigns 
later  on  the  same  year,  in  Texas,  Tennessee,  and  Oregon. 
Had  he  never  realized  before,  he  must  surely  have  real 
ized  then,  how  a  power  so  dominant  in  politics  as  the 
liquor  traffic  can  never  be  politically  assailed,  even  by 
non-partisan  ballots,  or  the  purpose  to  cast  them,  with 
out  invoking  and  commanding  the  open  or  secret  aid  of 
party  machines,  and  making  for  itself  common  cause 
with  party  leaders,  party  conditions,  and  party  success. 
And  he  must  have  seen  that  the  moral  elements  of  a 
single  State,  contending  with  the  liquor  forces  not  alone 
of  that  State  but  of  the  entire  nation,  were  contending 
also  against  the  imperative  needs  of  a  great  national 
party,  dependent  upon  the  liquor  forces  for  control,  in 
several  States,  and  inevitably  beaten  in  the  next  national 
campaign  if  these  liquor  forces  were  alienated  in  any 
State.  He  must  have  seen — he  did  see — that  a  State 
party's  action,  through  its  leaders  and  its  legislative  or 
administrative  policy,  will  be  dominated  by  the  national 
party's  needs,  and  that  the  final  logic  of  politics,  wrhen 
reasoned  from  the  mere  party  standpoint,  will  compel 
such  legislation,  or  administration,  or  policy,  within  the 


INEVITABLE   LEADERSHIP.  219 

narrower  limits  of  a  State,  as  may  and  will  insure  the 
national  party's  victory. 

In  the  Michigan  campaign  General  Fisk  had  spoken 
no  word  of  partisan  reference,  made  no  plea  that  meant 
his  party's  gain.  With  the  long  list  of  Amendment  ad 
vocates  in  that  State,  and  their  followers  in  other  States 
that  season,  he  kept  the  faith,  as  a  non-partisan,  upon 
the  platform,  every  day.  Yet  nevertheless  he  knew,  as 
did  many  beside,  that  non-partisanship  was  but  a  party 
sham,  in  all  the  four  States  which  carried  on  Amendment 
campaigns  during  1887  ;  that  influential  party  leaders 
were  conniving  at  the  Amendment's  defeat,  while  claim 
ing  party  credit  for  submitting  it  ;  that  its  defeat  was 
counted  by  them  a  party  necessity,  in  view  of  national 
conditions  logically  to  be  met  the  next  year. 

He  knew,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the 
National  Republican  Party,  by  its  recognized  leadership, 
and  because  of  its  composite  liquor-and-temperance  ele 
ments,  defeated  the  Prohibition  Amendment  in  Michigan 
and  in  Oregon  ;  just  as  a  like  Amendment  was  defeated 
by  the  National  Democratic  Party,  for  exactly  parallel 
reasons,  in  Texas  and  in  Tennessee.  He  did  not  marvel 
that  this  was  so.  He  only  wondered  that  thousands  of 
other  men  did  not  and  could  not  see  the  truth  of  it,  and 
the  partisan  excuses  which  could  be  urged  in  defence  of 
such  a  course.  And  he  grieved  that  men  would  any 
longer  insist  upon  non-partisan  methods,  in  settlement 
of  a  great  wrong  upheld  by  two  great  parties  for  party 
ends,  when  every  such  method  must  begin  in  legislative 
action  of  a  party  sort,  and  end  in  the  administration  of 
law  by  party  officials  ;  he  marvelled  that  party  action 
against  the  saloon  could  be  expected  from  any  party 
winning  State  or  national  victory  through  the  saloon,  and 
indebted  directly  to  the  saloon  for  dominant  party  life. 


220  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

But  he  did  not  grow  bitter.  His  patience  was  abun 
dant,  and  his  faith  unfailing.  The  year  before,  referring 
to  Maine's  Amendment  campaign,  he  had  said  : 

"  When  Mr.  Elaine  turned  away  from  the  ballot-box 
in  Augusta  without  discharging  his  whole  duty  as  a 
citizen,  he  dropped  his  own  flag  to  half-mast,  and  from 
that  day  began  his  melancholy  march  in  his  own  political 
funeral  procession." 

So,  now,  he  felt  that  any  man,  any  party,  stopping 
short  of  entire  duty  on  this  line  of  moral  and  political 
reform,  was  but  joining  a  solemn  funeral  procession,  and 
he  might  be  grieved  but  he  would  not  bitterly  condemn. 
To  man  or  party  he  would  allow  every  excuse  which 
necessity  could  frame,  and  let  the  procession  go  on,  him 
self  a  mourner  by  the  wayside  of  political  progress  and 
national  achievement,  but  not  a  participant  in  the  ob 
sequies,  or  a  part  of  the  deceased. 

He  was  not  unmindful  that  the  thought  of  many  Pro 
hibitionists  turned  steadily  toward  him  as  their  next 
national  standard-bearer.  Certain  papers  of  that  party 
deliberately  heralded  him  as  their  first  choice,  and  some 
of  the  party's  official  managers  declared  for  him  without 
reserve.  He  was  gratified  by  such  tokens  of  confidence 
and  esteem,  as  well  he  might  be,  coming  from  such 
sources  ;  but  he  grew  sorely  troubled  over  the  embarrass 
ments  they  brought,  and  sought  in  every  way  which 
modestly  he  might  to  divert  serious  purposes  from  him 
self.  He  wrote  letters  to  near  party  friends,  disavowing 
all  desire  for  political  honor,  even  refusing  all  consent  to 
be  mentioned  in  relation  thereto.  He  insisted  that  as  a 
private  in  the  ranks  of  Prohibition  he  could  fight  better, 
and  better  serve  the  cause,  than  as  captain  of  the  host. 
He  pleaded  his  varied  church  and  philanthropic  relation 
ships,  his  overworked  condition,  his  need  of  rest.  He 


INEVITABLE    LEADERSHIP.  221 

as  nearly  declined  possible  nomination  as  any  man  feels 
at  liberty  to  refuse  what  lias  not  been  proffered,  and 
what  he  knows  may  be  subject  to  circumstances  over 
which  no  one  has  or  can  have  positive  control.  And  the 
months  went  by. 

On  the  night  of  November  30th,  he  stood  before  a 
vast  audience  in  Battery  D.,  at  Chicago,  and  said  tender, 
heart- warm  words  in  memoria?n  of  John  B.  Finch,  for 
whom  the  world's  end  came  so  suddenly  not  many  weeks 
before,  and  whose  loss  the  world's  greatest  reform  must 
forevermore  lament.  A  National  Conference  of  Pro 
hibitionists  had  gathered  there,  that  day,  and  that  even 
ing's  tribute  was  but  their  due  to  one  whose  faithful, 
fearless  leadership  they  had  all  recognized.  And  on  the 
night  succeeding,  in  the  same  place,  over  five  thousand 
people  gathered  to  hear  General  Fisk,  Governor  St.  John, 
and  Mrs.  Lathrap  discuss  National  Prohibition.  It 
was  a  monster  assemblage — the  largest  of  its  party  kind, 
perhaps,  ever  till  then  seen  in  this  country.  Enthusiasm 
ran  up  to  fever  heat.  The  pulses  of  men  leaped  like 
flarne.  The  Silver  Lake  Quartette  sang — 

"  We're  not  so  lonesome  as  we  used  to  be," 

and  thunders  of  applause  swept  from  floor  to  ceiling. 

Delivering  the  main  address  of  that  occasion,  General 
Fisk  stirred  the  hearts  of  all  as  mountain  breezes  move 
the  shallow  depths  of  mountain  lakes.  Men  and  women 
laughed  when  he  willed  it,  or,  when  he  would,  grew 
sober  unto  tears.  He  surprised  even  those  who  knew 
him  best  with  his  oratorical  powers,  his  versatility  of  ex 
pression,  his  exceptional  aptness,  and  humor,  and 
strength.  Arid  before  he  sat  down  he  surprised  every 
body  by  persuading  the  audience  to  contribute  six  thou 
sand  dollars  to  a  national  campaign  fund,  wherewith 


222  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

Prohibitionists  were  to  begin  their  national  campaign  of 
1888. 

Mrs.  Lathrap,  as  many  will  remember,  followed  him 
that  night,  in  the  strong,  womanly  manner  which  is  her 
wont,  mellowed  often  by  pathetic  tenderness  ;  and  after 
her  came  Governor  St.  John,  whose  speech  set  thousands 
of  lips  and  hands  to  eager  cheering,  and  made  that  great 
military  hall  one  tempest  of  enthusiasm.  For  the  gov 
ernor,  as  authoritatively  as  any  one  man  could  at  that 
time,  and  with  an  inherent  right,  because  of  his  own 
sacrifice,  which  every  one  tacitly  confessed,  nominated 
General  Fisk  as  the  next  Prohibition  candidate  for  the 
Presidency.  The  nomination  had  indorsement  swift  and 
strong  enough  to  render  anybody  proud  and  glad,  bat 
mainly  it  made  General  Fisk  sober  and  regretful,  as 
those  well  knew  who  stood  nearest  his  heart. 

From  that  hour  he  faced  the  inevitable.  He  must 
bear  the  national  banner  of  Prohibition  in  1888,  as  he 
had  borne  the  State  banner  in  New  Jersey  in  1886 — even 
as  he  had  borne  that  despised  Birney  "  rag  "  in  "  Log 
Cabin  "  days — must  bear  it,  though  contempt  smite  him, 
and  prejudice  assail  him,  and  friendship  falter  and  fail 
— must  bear  it,  because  duty 'so  commanded,  and  man 
hood  would  not  let  him  refuse.  Yet  he  did  not  accept 
the  inevitable,  then,  or  soon.  So  much  did  he  shrink 
from  it,  that  he  caught  at  any  hope  of  relief,  and  would 
publicly  have  announced  his  refusal  but  for  keen  sense 
of  possible  duty,  and  the  often  earnest  petition  of  friends 
who  loved  both  him  arid  the  cause. 

Wherever  he  appeared  in  a  gathering  of  Prohibition 
ists,  he  was  welcomed  with  demonstrations  of  personal 
esteem  and  recognition  of  leadership  both  nattering  and 
embarrassing.  On  February  2d,  1888,  he  took  part  in  a 
public  debate  upon  "  High  License,  and  the  Need  of  a 


INEVITABLE    LEADERSHIP.  223 

Prohibition  Party,"  in  the  Brooklyn  Academy  of  Music, 
and  was  there  magnificently  received.  His  opponent 
that  night  was  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll,  of  the  Independent •, 
who  followed  able  debaters  upon  high  license,  himself 
taking  up  the  second  theme  assigned — "  Does  Temper 
ance  Reform  Demand  a  Prohibition  Party  ?"  Dr.  Car 
roll  read  a  carefully-prepared  argument,  the  ablest  ever 
made  upon  the  negative  side,  and  General  Fisk  read  an 
affirmative  address  in  return.  Not  haying  seen  or  heard 
the  paper  of  Dr.  Carroll,  the  general  could  not  meet  all 
the  points  made  therein,  but  dealt  with  broad  principles 
and  specific  facts.  Among  other  true  and  unanswerable 
statements  which  he  put  forth  were  these  : 

' '  We  are  all  agreed  touching  one  thing— that  the  liquor  traffic  is 
the  one  great  overshadowing  evil  of  these  times.  The  New  York 
Tribune  says  it  is  '  the  heaviest  clog  on  the  progress  of  our  country. 
Sooner  or  later  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  intelligent  and  progressive 
elements  of  society  to  drop  all  lesser  enterprises  and  combine  in  one 
determined  assault  upon  it.'  The  intelligent  and  progressive  ele 
ments  of  society  are  more  and  more  believing  that  a  successful  as 
sault  upon  the  great  evil  can  be  made  only  by  massing  in  a  National 
Prohibition  Party.  The  liquor  traffic  is  intrenched  in  national  poli 
tics.  The  nation  is  the  senior  partner  in  the  manufacture  of  liquors. 
Neither  old  party  will  grapple  with  the  monstrous  evil  which  says  to 
each,  '  Keep  your  hands  off  of  me  or  I  will  rend  the  one  more  hos 
tile  to  me  by  defeat,  and  give  success  to  the  more  friendly  organ 
ization.' 

"  The  liquor  traffic  entered  national  politics  in  1851.  The  distil 
lers  and  bar-tenders  held  their  first  national  convention  and  declared 
their  purpose  '  to  be  the  organization  of  a  political  party  to  resist 
the  enforcement,  secure  the  repeal,  and  resist  the  enactment  of  all 
temperance  and  Sunday  laws.'  The  leaders  in  both  the  old  Whig 
and  Democratic  parties  said,  with  great  promptness  :  '  What  do  you 
want  of  a  new  party  ?  We  are  both  with  you,  and  the  party  to  which 
you  will  give  the  most  votes  will  do  the  best  by  you.'  Two  years 
later,  when  the  liquor  convention  at  Cleveland  declared,  that  '  liquor 
men  could  vote  for  no  candidate  who  is  not  pledged  to  oppose  in 
earnest  and  with  decision  the  enactment  of  prohibitory  laws,'  the 


224  LIFE   OF   CLINTON"   BOWEN   FISK. 

Democratic  Party  hastened  to  place  itself  on  record  as  the  friend  and 
protector  of  the  saloon,  and  has  ever  since  kept  its  word. 

"  In  1872  the  Republican  national  platform  was  so  constructed  as 
to  place  the  party  in  hostility  to  all  *  so-called  temperance  and  Sun 
day  laws,'  and  the  President  of  the  Liquor  Association  said,  in  con 
templating  this  action  :  '  I  believe  that  it  is  only  a  question  of  time, 
and  our  entire  nation,  Government,  and  people  will  bow  with  affec 
tion  and  respect  to  the  genial  and  beneficent  reign  of  King  Gam- 
brinus.* 

"  The  liquor  interest  established  its  headquarters  in  Washington, 
placing  there  one  of  the  ablest  men  their  money  could  buy,  with  in 
structions  to  defeat  all  national  legislation  prejudical  to  the  liquor 
traffic.  We  of  the  National  Temperance  Society  can  testify  with 
what  fidelity  Louis  Schade  has  discharged  his  duty.  It  has  been  im 
possible,  as  yet,  with  all  the  efforts  we  could  concentrate,  to  secure 
the  appointment  of  a  non-partisan  commission  to  inquire  into  the 
effects  of  alcoholic  drinks  upon  our  people.  When  some  indiscreet, 
conscientious  Republican  had  spoken  out  in  meeting  against  this 
tyranny  and  arrogance  of  the  liquor  traffic,  their  famous  orator  said  : 
*  Should  separation  from  a  polluted  Republican  Party  become  neces 
sary,  even  if  only  for  the  especial  purpose  to  crush  prohibitory  laws 
and  procure  condemnation  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  of 
all  compulsory  measures,  it  becomes  important  to  consider  where 
we  can  look  either  for  new  political  connections  with  an  existing 
party,  or  for  the  material  for  the  organization  of  a  new  one.'  The 
dominant  party  to  this  insolence  replied  simply,  '  Don't  think  of 
moving  out  of  the  family  mansion  ;  take  the  best  rooms  for  your 
selves.'  Further,  speaking  of  the  political  affiliations  of  the  liquor- 
dealers,  Mr.  Schade  said  :  '  Three  fourths  of  them  are  Republicans. 
We  can  count  upon  their  protection  to  the  industry  which  contributes 
so  largely  toward  sustaining  the  Government,  and  I  assure  you  in 
general  that  the  bonds  of  good-will  between  the  Government  and 
ourselves  are  more  solid  than  ever.' ' ' 

While  the  Methodist  General  Conference  was  in  ses 
sion  at  New  York,  in  the  great  Metropolitan  Opera 
House,  the  Prohibitionists  of  New  York  County  arranged 
a  mass-meeting  to  be  held  there,  and  it  came  off  as  per 
announcement  on  May  20th,  1888.  The  vast  audito 
rium  was  packed  from  parquet  to  dome,  in  despite  of  a 
drenching  rain.  Hundreds  of  clergymen  were  present, 


INEVITABLE   LEADERSHIP.  225 

and  doctors  of  divinity  were  liberally  scattered  among 
the  four  or  five  thousand  people  assembled  there.  Scores 
occupied  the  broad  platform,  and  three  of  them  made 
speeches.  It  was  a  concourse  remarkable  for  its  high 
character,  for  its  extended  church  influence,  for  its  aver 
age  of  intellectual  ability.  No  political  meeting  of  any 
party,  it  may  be  assumed,  had  ever  before  matched  it  in 
these  particulars.  And  its  enthusiasm  grew  electric. 

Late  in  the  evening  General  Fisk  was  seen  quietly  to 
enter  a  box  upon  the  right  of  the  stage,  and  calls  for 
him  from  the  audience  soon  put  the  chairman's  pro 
gramme  quite  one  side.  The  calls  did  not  cease,  but 
swelled  to  a  chorus,  and  swept  from  gallery  to  gallery 
with  increasing  power  till  they  would  not  be  denied  ; 
and  when  the  general  was  led  forward  upon  the  stage, 
that  whole  mighty  assemblage  rose  and  gave  him  saluta 
tion  such  as  few  private  citizens  have  ever  received, 
hundreds  of  white  hands  waving  white  handkerchiefs, 
and  thousands  of  voices  shouting  forth  their  hearty 
cheers.  It  was  a  most  emphatic  echo  of  the  Chicago 
nomination  made  six  months  before.  Through  it,  and 
by  it,  the  metropolis  of  the  East  said  "  Amen  "  to  the 
choice  named  in  the  metropolis  of  the  West  ;  and  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  the  inevitable  after  that. 
To  a  close  friend,  substantially,  he  said  : 
"  I  do  not  want  this  nomination  ;  I  shrink  from  it. 
It  can  mean  for  me  only  toil  and  sacrifice,  calumny  and 
contempt.  I  have  no  political  ambitions  ;  all  I  crave  is 
the  rest  which  I  so  little  can  command,  and  the  chance 
for  private  service  in  this  cause  as  I  am  able  to  render  it. 
But  I  must  not  shirk  a  clear  duty,  and  there  is  no  objec 
tion  in  my  own  mind  against  accepting  the  burden,  and 
bearing  it,  which  I  am  not  ready  to  waive  if  that  be  the 
call  of  my  Master  and  my  fellow-men.  Only  we  must 


226  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN    F1SK. 

be  very  sure,  and  those  nearest  me  must  be  well  satisfied 
to  have  it  so." 

He  thought  first  of  the  cause,  and  of  the  home-circle 
which  he  held  so  dear  ;  last  of  himself,  and  the  com 
forts,  the  domestic  joys,  he  must  forego.  His  chief 
dread  was  that  unhappiness  might  come  to  those  he 
loved  ;  and  some  anxious  hours  were  his  on  this  account, 
before  the  final  decision  came. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

NOMINATED    FOR    THE    PRESIDENCY. 

FORMAL  choice  of  the  Prohibitionists  was  made  in 
their  National  Convention,  at  Indianapolis,  the  evening 
of  May  31st. 

That  convention  must  be  historic  in  the  politics  of 
this  country.  It  was  composed  of  more  than  one  thou 
sand  regular  delegates,  about  half  as  many  alternates, 
and  from  two  to  three  thousand  visitors  in  active  sym 
pathy,  who  crowded  Tomlinson  Hall  morning,  after 
noon,  and  evening  for  two  entire  days,  beginning  Wed 
nesday,  May  30th.  They  represented  every  State  in  the 
Union  save  two,  several  Territories,  and  the  District  of 
Columbia.  They  included  scores  of  men  and  women 
whose  names  have  become  nationally  identified  with 
moral  and  political  reform.  They  made  up  an  assem 
blage  of  immense  size,  of  magnificent  character,  of  lofty 
patriotism,  of  masterful  Christian  faith.  Their  chief 
thought  was — national  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic, 
through  a  national  party  to  suppress  it ;  and  allied  with 
this  was  another,  not  less  pervasive,  if  rather  less  domi 
nant — national  unity  through  such  a  national  party. 
These  thoughts  were  varyingly  but  constantly  expressed 
in  the  speeches  made,  in  the  prayers  offered,  in  the 
songs  sung,  and  in  the  mottoes  liberally  displayed  about 
the  hall.  Among  the  latter  were  these  : 

"  National  Prohibition  by  a  Party  whose  Supremacy  depends  upon 
its  Enforcement  will  Win. " 


228  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK   BOWEN   FISK. 

"  No  Evil  can  be  Exterminated  by  Selling  it  the  Eight  to  Exist." 

"  No  License  '  for  revenue  only  '  ;  no  Protection,  no  Free  Trade, 
for  the  Liquor  Traffic." 

"  Local  Option  is  too  Local  and  too  Optional." 

"  Prohibition  will  obliterate  the  Sectional  and  Color-line  in 
Politics." 

"  The  Prohibition  Army  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray  is  coming,  five 
hundred  thousand  strong,  to  Conquer  Rum." 

The  spirit  of  non-sectionalism,  of  patriotic  fraternity, 
from  the  opening  till  the  closing  hour,  was  deep,  suffu- 
sive,  hallowed,  and  tender.  It  gave  tone  and  color  to  the 
whole  proceedings.  It  lent  beautiful  emphasis  to  the 
fact  that  Prohibition,  as  a  new  national  issue,  can  over 
come  old  sectional  prejudice,  render  past  feuds  but  a 
present  sorrowful  memory,  sweeten  the  bitterness  of  by 
gone  strife,  and  blend  the  best  impulses  of  all  in  one 
grand  purpose  for  the  common  good.  It  had  very 
sacred  accentuation  on  the  first  evening,  when  a 
Memorial  Day  service  was  held  by  the  convention,  in 
which  "  Blue"  and  "  Gray"  bore  equal  part,  and  paid 
equally  touching  tribute  to 

"  The  thousands  true  and  brave, 
Who  fought  for  the  Eight  -with  a  zealous  might 
That  won  for  them  only  a  grave  ;' ' 

and  where  delegates  from  the  South  and  from  the  North, 
in  the  full  sincerity  of  a  new  political  brotherhood,  their 
pulses  throbbing  with  equal  patriotism,  together  could 
sit  and  sing  : 

"  Under  the  Flag  they  were  flying, 

Freedom  forbids  us  be  sad  ; 
Love,  amid  sorrowful  sighing, 

Even  can  smile  and  be  glad. 
One,  in  the  Eight  that  divided  ; 

One,  in  the  courage  both  knew  ; 
One,  by  one  flag  ever  guided— 

Brothers,  the  Gray  and  the  Blue. 


NOMINATED   FOR   THE    PRESIDENCY.  229 

"  Here  clasping  hand  within  hand, 

Mourn  we  the  brave  and  the  true  ; 
Whether  they  sleep  in  the  Blue  or  Gray, 
Waiting  the  dawn  of  the  Judgment  Day, 

Brothers,  the  Gray  and  the  Blue. 

"  Glad  in  the  glory  of  freedom, 

Brothers,  to-night,  we  embrace  ; 
Past  are  the  trials  of  Edom, 

Bright  is  the  Future's  fair  face  ; 
Heart  beats  with  heart,  in  communion 

Tender,  and  trustful,  and  true  ; 
Love  seals  again  a  glad  Union, 

Binding  the  Gray  and  the  Blue. " 

In  this  pathetic  service,  the  like  of  which  had  no 
previous  record,  and  which  may  never  be  matched,  in  all 
our  political  annals — participated  in  by  Colonel  George 
W.  Bain,  Colonel  R.  S.  Cheves,  and  Mrs.  Lide  Merri- 
wether,  as  representing  the  South  ;  by  Captain  J.  F. 
Cleghorn  and  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  representing  the 
North,  and  by  Rev.  J.  Ii.  Hector,  representing  the 
colored  race — General  Fisk  was  to  have  taken  leading 
place,  but  he  could  not  attend.  As  head  of  the  Local 
Committee  having  in  charge  the  Methodist  General 
Conference,  at  New  York,  he  felt  that  duty  required 
him  there,  and  so  the  convention  missed  his  magnetic 
presence,  while  he  lost  the  opportunity  he  would  have 
enjoyed  in  superlative  degree  of  speaking  for  the  dead 
heroes  and  the  living  Union — for  the  fellowship  of 
North  and  South,  the  obliteration  of  sectional  lines,  the 
uplifting  by  Northern  and  Southern  hands  of  one  ban 
ner  against  the  entire  nation's  deadliest  foe. 

Lament  was  heard  upon  every  hand  that  he  was  kept 
away  ;  his  absence  appeared  the  one  cause  for  regret 
which  that  splendid  gathering  saw.  It  was  not  a  con 
vention  of  liero-worshi.ppers,  yet  it  would  gladly  have 


230  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEST    FISK. 

paid  honor  to  the  man  selected  already  for  standard- 
bearer,  just  as  it  did  royally  honor  John  P.  St.  John, 
the  standard-bearer  of  1884,  by  making  him  permanent 
chairman,  and  by  frequent  demonstrations  of  esteem  ; 
not  a  convention  of  hero -worshippers,  because  exception 
ally  made  up  of  thinking  men  and  women,  swift  to  criti 
cise,  not  slow  to  condemn,  sure-set  of  opinion,  fixed  in 
ideas,  and  utterly  impossible  to  be  misled  by  crafty 
leadership,  or  to  be  stampeded  for  mere  political  ends. 

No,  not  hero- worshippers — far  from  that — neither  sen 
timentalists,  nor  idealists,  nor  fanatics  ;  but  a  body  of 
clear-headed,  brave-hearted,  practical,  brainy  believers 
in  God  and  man  ;  willing  to  work  for  truth,  without 
reward,  or  hope  of  reward  ;  willing  to  give  time,  and 
energy,  and  reputation,  and  hard  cash,  to  secure  their 
country's  redemption  from  the  disloyal  curse  of  drink  ; 
willing  to  stand  as  a  forlorn  hope,  in  the  mightiest  con 
test  of  human  history,  between  the  hosts  of  right  and 
the  swelling  legions  of  wrong. 

They  went  about  practical  business  on  the  morning  of 
Thursday,  by  contributing  over  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  for  campaign  expenditure,  amid  demonstrations 
of  generous  enthusiasm  amazing.  Rich  men  vied  with 
each  other  in  giving  their  thousands  ;  poor  men  became 
rivals  in  sacrifice  for  a  needy  cause  ;  a  Catholic  priest 
pledged  one  fifth  of  his  modest  salary  ;  women  gave 
with  an  impulse  like  that  which  contributed  the  widow's 
mite  centuries  ago.  And  hundreds  of  unsympathetic 
spectators  marvelled  at  the  sight. 

They  framed  their  platform  Thursday  afternoon,  with 
no  difference  of  thought  or  desire  save  on  the  Suffrage 
Question.  Debate  upon  that  was  keen  enough  to  show 
the  convention's  mental  quality,  but  not  to  impugn  the 
Christian  temper  of  those  who  took  part  ;  and  the  plat- 


NOMINATED   FOR   THE   PRESIDENCY.  231 

form  itself  stands  as  witness  that  the  convention  knew 
what  it  cared  to  say,  and  dared  to  say  it,  and  cared  and 
dared  to  say  it  in  direct,  unmistakable  terms.  It  is  fit 
and  proper  that  these  pages  record  the  actual  basis  upon 
which  that  convention  placed  its  candidates  for  a  cam 
paign  sure  to  form  one  of  the  vital  chapters  in  political 
hi  story  : 

NATIONAL  PROHIBITION  PLATFOEM. 

The  Prohibition  Party,  in  national  convention  assembled,  acknowl 
edging  Almighty  God  as  the  source  of  all  power  in  government,  and 
believing  that  all  human  enactments  should  be  framed  in  harmony 
with  His  law,  do  hereby  declare  : 

First.  That  the  manufacture,  importation,  exportation,  transpor 
tation,  and  sale  of  alcoholic  beverages  shall  be  made  public  crimes, 
and  prohibited  and  punished  as  such. 

Second.  That  such  prohibition  must  be  secured  through  amend 
ments  of  our  national  and  State  constitutions,  enforced  by  adequate 
laws,  adequately  supported  by  administrative  authority  ;  and  to  this 
end  the  organization  of  the  Prohibition  Party  is  imperatively  de 
manded  in  State  and  nation. 

Third.  That  any  form  of  license,  taxation,  or  regulation  of  the 
liquor  traffic  is  contrary  to  good  government  ;  that  any  party  which 
supports  regulation,  license,  or  tax,  enters  into  alliance  with  such 
traffic,  and  becomes  the  actual  foe  of  the  State's  welfare  ;  and  that  we 
arraign  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  for  their  persistent 
attitude  in  favor  of  the  license  iniquity,  whereby  they  oppose  the 
demand  of  the  people  for  prohibition,  and,  through  open  complicity 
with  the  liquor  crime,  defeat  the  enforcement  of  law. 

Finirth.  For  the  immediate  abolition  of  the  internal  revenue  sys 
tem,  whereby  our  national  Government  is  deriving  support  from  our 
greatest  national  vice. 

Fifth.  That  an  adequate  public  revenue  being  necessary,  it  may  be 
properly  raised  by  impost  duties  ;  but  impost  duties  should  be  so 
reduced  that  no  surplus  shall  be  accumulated  in  the  Treasury,  and 
that  the  burdens  of  taxation  shall  be  removed  from  foods,  clothing, 
and  other  comforts  and  necessaries  of  life,  and  imposed  on  such 
articles  of  import  as  will  give  protection  both  to  the  manufacturing 
employer  and  producing  laborer  against  the  competition  of  the 
world. 

Sixth.  That  civil  service  appointments  for  all  civil  offices,  chiefly 


232  LIFE   OF   CLINTOH    BOW  EN   FISK. 

clerical  in  their  duties,  should  be  based  upon  moral,  intellectual,  and 
physical  qualifications,  and  not  upon  party  service  or  party  necessity. 

Seventh.  That  the  right  of  suffrage  rests  on  no  mere  circumstance 
of  race,  color,  sex,  or  nationality,  and  that  where,  from  any  cause,  it 
has  been  withheld  from  citizens  who  are  of  suitable  age  and  mentally 
and  morally  qualified  for  the  exercise  of  an  intelligent  ballot,  it 
should  be  restored  by  the  people,  through  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  on  such  educational  basis  as  they  may  deem  wise. 

Eighth.  For  the  abolition  of  polygamy,  and  the  establishment  of 
uniform  laws  governing  marriage  and  divorce. 

Ninth.  For  prohibiting  all  combinations  of  capital  to  control,  and 
to  increase  the  cost  of,  products  for  popular  consumption. 

Tenth.  For  the  preservation  and  defence  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  civil 
institution,  without  oppressing  any  who  religiously  observe  the  same 
on  any  other  than  the  first  day  of  the  week. 

Eleventh.  That  arbitration  is  the  Christian,  wise,  and  economic 
method  of  settling  national  differences,  and  the  same  method  should 
by  judicious  legislation  be  applied  to  the  settlement  of  disputes  be 
tween  large  bodies  of  employes  and  employers  ;  that  the  abolition  of 
the  saloon  would  remove  the  burdens,  moral,  physical,  pecuniary, 
and  social,  which  now  oppress  labor  and  rob  it  of  its  earnings,  and 
would  prove  to  be  the  wise  and  successful  way  of  promoting  labor 
reform,  and  we  invite  labor  and  capital  to  unite  with  us  for  the  ac 
complishment  thereof  ;  that  monopoly  in  land  is  a  wrong  to  the  peo 
ple,  %nd  the  public  land  should  be  reserved  to  actual  settlers  ;  and 
that  men  and  women  should  receive  equal  wages  for  equal  work. 

Twelfth.  That  our  immigration  laws  should  be  so  enforced  as  to 
prevent  the  introduction  into  our  country  of  all  convicts,  inmates  of 
dependent  institutions,  and  all  others  physically  incapacitated  for 
self-support,  and  that  no  person  should  have  the  ballot  in  any  State 
who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Recognizing  and  declaring  that  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  has 
become  the  dominant  issue  in  national  politics,  we  invite  to  full 
party  fellowship  all  those  who  on  this  one  dominant  issue  are  with 
us  agreed,  in  the  full  belief  that  this  party  can  and  will  remove  sec 
tional  differences,  promote  national  unity,  and  insure  the  best  wel 
fare  of  our  entire  land. 

Jubilant  over  the  day's  financial  deeds,  and  elated 
over  a  platform  unanimously  adopted,  which  gave  sig 
nal  satisfaction — a  platform  so  broad  as  to  refute  the 
charge  of  one-ideaism,  while  yet  so  single  that  upon  it  men 


NOMINATED   FOR   THE    PRESIDENCY.  233 

might  rally  in  true  fellowship,  if  agreed  upon  the  single 
issue  of  Prohibition — glowing  with  fraternal  good-will, 
and  glad  in  the  prospect  of  large  party  gains  because  of 
the  work  so  well  accomplished  and  the  greater  things  yet 
to  be  done,  the  convention  reassembled  Thursday  even 
ing  to  complete  its  task. 

Between  four  and  five  thousand  people  densely 
crowded  the  hall.  As  much  interest  was  manifest  as  if 
the  nomination  for  first  place  were  in  doubt,  and  half  a 
dozen  aspirants  had  active  support  in  their  efforts  to 
secure  it.  But  it  was  not  the  interest  of  self-seeking 
ambition,  of  desire  for  political  spoils.  It  was  a  hal 
lowed,  unselfish  interest,  throbbing  with  humanity's 
hope — an  interest  prayerful  and  consecrated,  which 
found  voice  in  the  opening  prayer,  by  Rev.  "W.  R. 
Goodwin,  of  Illinois,  as  follows  : 

"  O  God,  our  Father,  we  come  to  Thee  to-night  with  thanksgiving 
and  with  prayer.  We  rejoice  in  what  our  eyes  have  seen  and  in 
what  our  ears  have  heard,  and  we  rejoice  in  the  promise  of  a  better 
day  not  far  off  when  our  homes  shall  be  free  from  this  evil  curse, 
when  this  nation  shall  belong  to  God.  We  thank  Thee,  our  Father, 
for  the  movement  toward  the  right,  and  we  pray  Thee  to  bless  us  in 
all  our  efforts  to  bring  Thy  kingdom  here,  and  may  that  time  soon 
come  when  there  shall  be  a  school-house  on  every  hill  and  a  church 
in  every  valley,  but  saloons  nowhere.  We  pray  Thee  to  hasten  the 
day  when  there  shall  be  no  smoke  from  any  brewery  or  distillery  to 
curse  God's  free  atmosphere,  and  when  this  nation  shall  be  a  free 
nation— a  nation  of  gallant  men  and  of  happy  women.  To  this  end 
we  pray  Thee,  our  Father,  to  help  us  by  our  prayers  and  lead  us  by 
our  ballots  to  save  our  homes  and  to  save  our  country.  And  we 
pray  Thee,  O  God,  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  every  distil 
lery,  and  every  brewery,  and  every  saloon  shall  be  closed  ;  and  if 
men  will  not  forsake  the  evil  of  their  ways  in  any  other  manner,  we 
pray  Thee  to  break  up  financially,  root  and  branch,  the  entire  system 
of  liquor,  until  all  our  people  everywhere  shall  learn  the  right  and  do 
it,  and  when  God  shall  be  honored  and  glorified,  and  when  Heaven 
shall  look  down  and  see  a  country  purified  and  in  the  enjoyment  of 
God's  blessing.  Let  Thy  blessing  rest  upon  the  labors  of  this  con- 


234  LIFE   OF   CLINTOK   UOWEK   FISK. 

vention.  We  pray  Thee  to  help  us  to-night  in  the  selection  of  our 
standard-bearers  who  may  lead  us  forward  to  victory,  and  may  all 
things  be  done  toward  Thy  glory  and  the  welfare  of  this  great  cause, 
and  give  us  victory  in  all  our  efforts  in  all  our  States,  until  this  party 
of  ours  shall  be  the  dominant  party,  and  our  Congress  shall  be  pure, 
and  our  legislators  pure,  and  our  judges  pure,  and  all  over  this  land 
peace  and  righteousness  shall  prevail  and  God  Himself  shall  rule. 
Hear  us  and  bless  us  and  save  us  for  the  Redeemer's  sake.  Amen." 

There  was  no  carefully -arranged  programme  planned 
for  climacteric  effect,  as  there  might  have  been.  Rev. 
Dr.  I.  K.  Funk,  of  New  York,  moved  that  the  conven 
tion  proceed  to  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President  ;  and  the  motion  prevailed. 
Pending  the  ordered  roll-call  hy  States,  some  miscellane 
ous  resolutions  were  entertained  and  adopted.  "When 
roll-call  finally  began,  Alabama  was  first  to  respond, 
through  Colonel  John  T.  Tanner,  with  the  name  of 
Clinton  B.  Fisk  ;  but  Colonel  Tanner's  voice  was  weak, 
and  what  he  said  could  not  be  heard  far  from  where 
he  stood.  Professor  Samuel  Dickie,  Chairman  of  the 
National  Committee,  suggested  that  States  having  no 
candidate  of  their  own  to  present,  should  pass  the  call  ; 
and  no  further  responses  came  until  Kentucky  was 
reached,  when  Colonel  George  W.  Bain  mounted  his 
chair  and  was  rapturously  cheered.  In  those  mellow 
silver  tones  which  have  delighted  and  fascinated  so  many 
audiences,  in  so  many  States,  and  with  that  charm  of 
manner  which  makes  him  the  crown  prince  of  temper 
ance  orators,  Colonel  Bain  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

11  Having  the  instructions  of  my  State,  I  feel  I  must  occupy  your 
time  for  about  a  minute  and  a  half.  When  the  Kentucky  Convention 
was  held  on  the  20th  of  April  last,  it  was  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
convention  that  the  name  of  General  Green  Clay  Smith  should  be 
presented  as  the  first  choice  of  Kentucky,  and  Clinton  B.  Fisk  as  her 
second.  When  they  made  that  vote  I  believe  it  was  especially  meant 


HOMIKATED   FOR  THE   PRESIDENCY.  235 

as  a  compliment  to  Green  Clay  Smith.  I  believe  they  knew  that 
Green  Clay  Smith  did  not  expect  any  nomination  ;  but  they  wished  to 
honor  him  for  his  long  service,  to  express  the  love  Kentucky  had  for 
him— for  the  man  who,  though  he  knew  he  was  fighting  for  the  free 
dom  of  his  own  slaves,  went  into  the  war,  and  when  the  war  was 
over  and  he  was  appointed  Minister  to  Spain,  with  its  salary,  emolu 
ments  and  honors  of  office  before  him,  was  converted  to  God,  turned 
his  back  on  political  honors  and  went  back  to  his  own  community, 
and  in  the  little  Baptist  Church  there  went  to  preaching  the  Gospel. 
I  received  a  letter  from  him  day  before  yesterday,  in  which  he  says  : 
'  I  cannot  attend  the  convention.  I  never  expected  its  nomination. 
I  deeply  appreciate  the  compliment  of  Kentucky.  I  ask  you  to  go 
before  the  committee,  and  also  that  you  go  before  the  National  Con 
vention,  not  to  present  my  name,  but  to  withdraw  it,  and  to  give 
my  hearty  support  to  General  Clinton  13.  Fisk  for  President  of  the 
United  States." 

Everybody  heard  this  nomination,  and  there  went  up 
at  once  a  mighty  shout  ,of  indorsement  that  set  the  blood 
bounding  in  every  breast.  General  Green  Clay  Smith 
had  borne  the  standard  in  18Y6,  and  would  have  been  a 
popular  choice  for  1888  had  not  the  hearts  of  all  become 
so  fixed  upon  another. 

Michigan  gracefully  waived  her  turn,  that  she  might 
second  the  formal  presentation  which  another  State  had 
prior  claim  to  make,  and,  speaking  through  Hon.  Will 
iam  H.  Morrow,  New  Jersey  thus  declared  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  this  Convention  : 

11  It  used  to  be  urged  against  the  Prohibition  Party  that  it  had  but 
a  single  idea.  Heretofore  we  may  have  been  justly  subject  to  the 
charge,  but  I  venture  to  say  had  any  one  come  into  this  convention 
at  any  time  during  the  past  two  days,  who  had  said  that  the  Prohibi 
tion  Party  has  only  one  idea,  he  would  have  seen  that  it  has  all  the 
grand  ideas  of  1888,  and  means  to  hold  on  to  them  until  victory 
comes.  I  will  not  linger  ;  but  from  all  I  have  heard  for  the  last  six 
months,  and  from  what  I  have  heard  in  this  convention,  and  from 
what  I  have  seen  upon  yotir  badges,  and  your  banners,  and  your 
flags,  I  conclude  you  all  have  at  this  moment  but  a  single  idea.  I 
don't  know  that  the  work  that  my  New  Jersey  delegation  has  put 
upon  me  is  more  than  needless,  for  why  should  I  present  the  name 


236  LIFE   OF   CLIKTOX    BOWEtf   FISK. 


of  one  who  is  known  all  over  the  United  States  ?  Why  need  I  tell 
you  of  the  patriot,  why  need  I  tell  you  of  the  statesman,  and  why, 
above  all,  need  I  tell  you  of  the  Christian  man,  whose  conscience 
drove  him  out  of  the  political  party  in  which  he  was  rocked  in  his 
babyhood  by  his  sainted  mother  and  father  ?  Why  need  I  say  more 
in  behalf  of  the  son  of  Michigan,  adopted  by  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  than  what  you  already  know,  more  than  to  ask  you  by  your 
votes  next  November,  in  pursuance  of  what  I  see  written  upon  every 
face,  to  nominate  and  elect  the  grandest  man  of  the  day,  General 
Clinton  B.  Fisk,  of  New  Jersey." 

It  was  not  an  elaborately  composed  speech  ;  it  did  not 
quite  rise  to  the  occasion  in  its  rhetoric,  perhaps,  and 
the  subject  might  fairly  have  called  forth  a  more  ex 
tended  and  more  studied  eulogy  ;  but  never  did  rheto 
rician's  florid  art  or  eulogist's  flowing  praise  invoke  a 
grander  climax.  The  scene  that  followed  was  one  of 
magnificent  disorder.  Men  sprang  to  their  feet,  and 
stood  upon  the  chairs,  and  swung  their  hats,  brandished 
their  canes,  flourished  their  umbrellas,  and  cheered  till 
they  became  hoarse.  Women  waved  their  handker 
chiefs  and  joined  their  clear  treble  to  the  baritone  cries 
which  grew  and  swelled  to  pulsing  thunders  of  sound. 
Rhythmic  huzzas  rang  out  and  died  away,  only  to  be 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  with  growing  fervor  and 
volume.  And  there,  where  but  a  night  previous  the 
Blue  and  the  Gray  had  mingled  their  tender  memorial 
tributes,  and  some  had  sung 

"  Hushed  are  the  roar  and  the  riot  ; 

Spent  are  the  furies  of  wrath  ; 
Calm  as  an  angel  of  Quiet, 
Peace  walks  her  beautiful  path," 

ears  once  familiar  with  it,  under  other  conditions  and  in 
spiration,  could  catch  the  short,  sharp,  ringing  percus 
sion  of  "  the  rebel  yell,"  no  longer  up-leaping  in  wrath 
but  in  fraternal  jubilee. 


NOMINATED   FOR  THE    PRESIDENCY.  237 

And  so  General  Fisk  was  nominated.  But  Michigan 
lost  her  chance  to  second,  for  after  some  minutes  of  this 
tempestuous  demonstration,  in  a  momentary  lull  between 
the  whirlwind  gusts  of  it,  Colonel  Cheves,  an  ex-Con 
federate  officer  of  Kentucky,  secured  the  chairman's  at 
tention,  and  said  : 

"  I  move  that  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  be  made  the 
unanimous  choice  of  this  convention  for  President  of 
the  United  States." 

The  motion  was  put  upon  a  rising  vote,  and  the  whole 
convention  stood,  at  once. 

Then  said  the  chairman  : 

"  I  declare  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  to  be  unanimously 
the  choice  of  this  convention  for  President  of  the 
United  States." 

And  once  more  delegates  and  visitors  thundered  their 
applause,  while  banners  waved,  and  the  band  played, 
and  handkerchiefs  fluttered,  and  a  huge  wooden  crank 
was  whirled  about  in  the  centre  of  the  hall,  and  above 
the  stage  unseen  agencies  lifted  a  large  portrait  of  the 
general,  beneath  which  was  depicted  a  snake  coiled  into 
the  word  saloon,  while  the  candidate's  left  hand  grasped 
the  reptile's  throat,  and  below  all  floated  in  mid-air  yet 
another  device,  on  which,  in  evergreen  letters,  could  be 
read,  "  Hail  to  the  Chief— Fisk." 

The  names  of  several  gentlemen  were  presented  for 
the  Vice-Presidency,  but  choice  fell  at  length  upon  Rev. 
John  A.  Brooks,  D.D.,  of  Missouri,  and  after  a  speech 
from  that  gentleman,  and  some  further  miscellaneous 
business,  the  convention  adjourned  sine  die. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

AT    HIS    SEABRIGHT    HOME. 

CHAIRMAN  ST.  JOHN  telegraphed  General  Fisk,  as  fol 
lows  : 

"  INDIA.NAPOLIS,  IND.,  May  31,  1888. 

"  The  National  Prohibition  Convention,  of  over  one  thousand  dele 
gates,  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  has  just  nominated  you  by  ac 
clamation  as  its  candidate  for  President.  Accept  my  heartiest  con 
gratulation.  May  God  bless  you  !  JOHN  P.  ST.  JOHN." 

One  who  desired  the  general's  nomination  as  much 
as  any  others  of  the  thousand,  for  sake  of  the  cause,  but 
who,  in  hope  of  saving  him  and  his  from  burden  and 
sacrifice,  had  agreed  not  to  favor  it,  and  had  sat  silent 
through  all  the  turbulent  enthusiasm  of  that  flood-tide 
hour,  sent  over  the  wire  this  brief  testimony  : 

"  I  was  an  atom  before  an  avalanche.     You  are  called." 

Judge  Eobert  C.  Pitman,  of  Massachusetts,  author  of 
"  Alcohol  and  the  State,"  wired  greeting  : 

* '  Accept  my  congratulation  upon  your  hearty  and  unanimous 
nomination  as  our  leader  .in  the  Presidential  campaign.  It  is  an 
honor  unsought  by  you,  but  one  that  will  last  and  grow  brighter  with 
the  lapse  of  time." 

These,  and  scores  of  other  congratulatory  messages, 
were  not  delivered  to  General  Fisk  that  night.  The 
Methodist  General  Conference  had  but  just  closed  its 
labors,  and,  worn  out  with  the  incessant  cares  incident  to 
his  service  in  connection  therewith,  he  had  gone  to  his 


AT    HIS    SEABRIGHT    HOME.  239 

New  York  City  apartments  and  retired  early  for  needed 
rest.  His  family  would  not  disturb  him,  and  the  news 
of  his  nomination  met  him  first  on  Friday  morning  of 
June  1st. 

He  was  too  troubled  by  it,  and  too  exhausted  by  the 
month's  Conference  attendance  and  duties,  for  hourly  in 
terview  and  interruption,  and  at  once  forsook  the  city 
and  sought  the  quiet  of  his  lovely  Seabright  home  on 
the  Jersey  coast. 

A  Voice  reporter  found  him  there  next  day. 

"  And  so  you  have  come  to  talk  with  me  about  the 
nomination  ?"  he  asked.  "  Well,  you  see  how  I  am. 
I  am  completely  worn  out,  and  have  come  down  here  for 
a  little  rest." 

Rumson  Hill,  his  summer  residence,  and  his  only  per 
manent  abode,  is  a  restful  place.  It  is  two  miles,  nearly, 
from  Seabright  Station  on  the  New  Jersey  Southern 
Road,  and  overlooks  the  little  Shrewsbury  River,  while 
beyond  that,  southward,  and  about  four  miles  removed, 
is  famous  Long  Branch,  half-hidden  by  the  timber 
growths  between.  The  neighborhood  abounds  in  pala 
tial  villas,  surrounded  by  superb  grounds,  wherein  and 
whereon  wealth  has  lavished  its  adornments  without 
stint.  Nowhere  else,  it  is  said,  in  all  that  region  so 
noted  for  its  display  of  architectural  and  landscape  art, 
can  you  find  such  an  array  of  costly  establishments  as  in  the 
ten  square  miles  of  which  Rumson  Hill  is  a  natural  centre. 

The  Hill  is  not  a  mountain,  but  a  gently-sloping,  ir 
regular  eminence,  and  upon  the  sides  of  it  are  several 
residences  owned  by  the  money  kings  of  New  York. 
General  Fisk's  home  is  the  most  modest  of  all,  and  looks 
much,  from  the  rather  remote  highway,  like  a  liberal, 
well-kept  country  farmhouse,  set  amid  some  rural  gentle 
man's  wide  acres,  arid  generous  of  unpretentious  enjoy- 


240  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEtf    FISK. 

ment  for  all  who  enter  there.  Such,  indeed,  it  is.  The 
farm  has  eighty  acres,  and  is  carefully  equipped  with  all 
the  appointments  of  a  first-class  agricultural  "  plant," 
including  fine  blooded  horses  and  cows,  and  ample  ap 
purtenances  for  their  breeding  and  care.  The  general 
bought  it  ten  years  ago,  and  has  vastly  improved  it 
since.  Kow,  its  lawns  are  as  velvety  as  those  of  Eng 
land  ;  its  open  grove  is  like  an  English  park  or  a  Ken 
tucky  blue-grass  pasture  ;  its  wide  piazzas  invite  to  the 
leisure  an  overworked  man  so  needs  ;  its  extended  south 
ern  outlook  has  the  cool  sweep  of  green  fields,  near-by 
sparkling  waters,  and  farther-away  church  spires  point 
ing  to  the  sky's  own  calm. 

The  library  betokens  excellent  literary  taste,  its 
crowded  bookcases  representing  by  their  contents  every 
field  of  letters,  and  showing  frequent  familiar  use.  In 
the  broad  hall  a  fine  portrait  of  Bishop  Simpson  is  con 
spicuous  ;  and  near  it  may  be  seen,  time-stained  and 
bullet-riddled,  the  battle-flag  of  the  Thirty- third  Mis 
souri  Regiment,  presented  to  their  colonel  in  1862  by 
the  Union  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Louis. 
In  a  fireplace  in  the  parlor  is  an  old-fashioned  crane, 
hammered  into  shape  at  his  Clinton  forge  by  General 
Fisk's  father,  over  half  a  century  gone  by  ;  and  on  the 
south  wall  of  that  handsome  room  hang  the  portraits  of 
two  beautiful  children,  whose  faces  haunt  the  beholder 
long  after  he  turns  away,  and  upon  which  the  general 
cannot  look  without  quivering  lips  and  humid  eyes. 
They  were  his  pets,  those  pretty  immortals,  and  they 
died  long  years  ago. 

Over  this  comfortable  home,  in  the  midst  of  such  at 
tractive  surroundings,  Mrs.  Fisk  presides  with  as  much 
genius  for  administration  as  her  husband  has  shown  in  a 
wider  sphere,  and  to  her  efforts  are  due  for  him  in  large 


AT   HIS   SEABRIGHT   HOME.  241 

measure  the  restful  possibilities  of  the  place.  She  has 
been  his  willing  and  invaluable  coadjutor  all  his  man 
hood  through.  During  part  of  his  army  service  she  was 
with  him,  and  when  not  with  him  she  was  usually  at  the 
front,  doing  duty  as  a  nurse.  With  Mrs.  General  Fre 
mont  she  organized  the  first  Soldiers'  Relief  Society  this 
country  knew  ;  and  she  stripped  their  St.  Louis  home 
almost  bare  of  beds  and  bedding,  and  everything  else 
that  might  serve,  for  the  comfort  of  those  first  Missouri 
regiments  organized,  notably  that  of  General  Frank 
Blair.  From  the  summer  of  1861  till  the  close  of  the 
war  she  was  well-nigh  constantly  active  in  attentions  to 
the  sick  and  wounded,  both  Union  and  Confederate,  and 
came  as  near  being  a  Florence  Nightingale  as  any  woman 
of  America.  Twice  she  visited  the  bloody  battle-ground 
of  Shiloh,  and  tramped  over  it  with  special  details  of 
surgeons  and  soldiers,  gathering  up  the  wounded,  whom 
she  had  carried  to  steamboats  in  waiting,  and  then  ac 
companied  them  to  St.  Louis. 

Dr.  Douglass  tells  an  amusing  incident  of  one  of  these 
visits  to  the  Shiloh  battle-field — the  Dr.  Douglass  who 
had  charge  of  General  Grant  during  that  officer's  last 
days.  He  was  at  Shiloh  with  Grant  as  an  army  surgeon. 
In  the  first  day's  engagement  he  lost  all  his  wardrobe  and 
medical  supplies.  When  Mrs.  Fisk  arrived  from  St. 
Louis,  with  a  steamer  to  carry  the  sick  and  wounded 
back  there,  Dr.  Douglass  accompanied  her  over  the 
field,  and  gave  needed  assistance.  At  night,  as  they 
were  tramping  around  searching  for  poor  unfortunates 
who  required  care,  seeing  but  dimly  through  the  dark 
ness  by  their  feeble  lantern-lights,  and  guided  chiefly  by 
the  moans  of  stricken  men,  while  they  scanned  the  uneven 
ground,  the  doctor  stepped  upon  some  brush  and  tore 
his  pantaloons  nearly  off  him. 


242  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

"What  shall  I  do?"  lie  asked  of  Mrs.  Fisk  ;  and, 
with  real  distress,  he  added,  "  These  are  all  the  clothes  I 
have  1" 

Looking  sharply  about,  Mrs.  Fisk  saw  a  rebel  tent, 
left  standing  on  the  field,  with  its  top  burned  off  by  the 
flame  of  battle. 

"  You  go  in  there,"  she  said,  with  woman's  ready  re 
source,  "  take  off  your  pantaloons,  throw  them  over  to 
me,  and  I  will  mend  them  and  throw  them  back  to 
you. "  Dr.  Douglass  obeyed  without  delay  ;  and  he  has 
often  said  that  he  saw  no  other  scene  through  all  the 
war  so  weird  as  that  of  Mrs.  Fisk,  sitting  on  a  log,  upon 
the  bloody  field  of  Shiloh,  by  the  dim  light  of  her  lan 
tern  sewing  up  the  awful  rent  in  his  unfortunate  panta 
loons. 

To  the  reporter  General  Fisk  talked  freely  of  the  con 
vention  and  its  work.  Of  his  own  nomination,  he  said  : 

"  I  have  always  had  the  conviction  that  I  could  be  of 
greater  service  in  the  ranks  than  as  a  leader  of  the  party. 
But  it  does  seem  as  though  the  party  wants  me.  Of 
course  nothing  but  a  strong  sense  of  duty  would  induce 
me  to  accept.  It  does  look  almost  like  a  call  from  God. 
I  must  have  time  to  think  about  it,  and  will  do  what  I 
think  is  best  for  the  party,  and  just  to  my  family  and 
myself.  You  know  what  bitter  calumny  was  heaped 
upon  St.  John,  and  if  I  enter  this  conflict  I  must  expect 
the  same  kind  of  treatment.  Any  man  would  receive  it. 
As  for  myself  I  don't  care  a  particle  for  that.  I  was  a 
resident  of  a  border  State,  and  I  went  through  the  war, 
and  I  know  what  this  sort  of  thing  means.  I  can  stand 
it,  but  it  won't  be  a  pleasant  thing  for  my  family." 

Shall  we  ever  bring  party  politics  to  so  high  a  plane 
in  this  country,  will  the  standard  of  editorial  ethics  ever 
be  so  exalted,  that  those  to  whom  a  public  man  is  near- 


AT   HIS   SEABRIGHT   HOME.  243 

est  and  dearest  will  not  shrink  from  his  accepting  nom 
ination  to  high  office  because  of  calumny  waiting  ahead  ? 
Are  parties  and  press  to  be  always  the  willing  calumni 
ators  of  good  men  which  in  recent  years  they  have  be 
come  ?  Must  those  who  accept  the  full  responsibilities 
of  citizenship,  and  stand  for  the  suffrage  of  their  fel 
lows,  forever  do  so  knowing  that  our  boasted  freedom  of 
speech  and  of  print  means  cruel  license  for  party  malice, 
for  personal  vindictiveness,  for  political  hatred,  and  for 
wanton  outrage  ? 

Assuming  that  General  Fisk  must  and  would  bring  his 
thoughtful  and  prayerful  consideration  of  this  matter  to 
an  affirmative  decision,  despite  any  sensitiveness  which 
might  lead  both  himself  and  his  family  to  decide  other 
wise,  the  Prohibition  managers  arranged  for  another 
great  mass-meeting  to  be  held  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House,  at  New  York,  June  22d,  and  for  the  formal 
notice  of  nomination  to  be  given  their  candidates  there. 

Once  more  the  immense  auditorium  was  crowded  with 
Prohibitionists,  till  hundreds  could  get  no  seats,  when 
this  occasion  came  round.  There  was  no  storm  now, 
but  a  torrid  wave  had  swept  across  the  land  and  whelmed 
the  metropolis  by  the  sea  ;  yet  the  enthusiasm  which 
floods  could  not  quench  in  May  could  not  be  melted  in 
June.  Tier  upon  tier,  the  boxes  and  the  galleries,  one 
dense  mass  of  people,  looked  down  on  the  wide  par 
quet,  thronged  to  suffocation,  and  on  the  great  stage, 
whereon  sat  hundreds  of  well-known  Prohibition  believ 
ers  and  advocates  ;  and  over  and  about  all  glowed  the 
many  hundreds  of  gas-jets,  giving  brilliancy  and  more 
torpidity  to  the  scene.  It  was  a  wonderfully  inspiring 
picture  to  look  out  upon  from  the  platform,  when  at 
eight  o'clock  the  meeting  was  called  to  order.  Bishop 
J,  N.  Fitzgerald  offered  prayer,  and  Mr.  W.  T.  Ward- 


244  LIFE   OF   CLIKTOK    BOWEN   FISK. 

well,  Chairman  of  the  Prohibition  County  Committee  of 
New  York,  made  these  introductory  remarks  : 

"  This  vast  audience,  this  sea  of  upturned  faces,  this  enthusiasm 
evinced,  reminds  one  that  Prohibition  is  a  living  issue,  and  that  it 
has  come  to  stay.  [Cheers.]  It  means  that  we  have  come  here  to 
listen  to  two  of  the  most  illustrious  men  in  all  this  land,  and  it  means 
victory.  [Cheers.]  I  would  like  to  tell  you  what  something  else 
means,  too.  The  failure  of  the  Chicago  Convention  to  touch  this 
question  of  the  liquor  traffic  means  an  additional  hundred  thousand 
votes  for  Fisk  and  Brooks.  [Loud  and  continued  applause.]  We 
are  here  to-night  not  as  any  balance-of -power  party.  We  make  no 
deals.  We  are  an  advancing  and  increasing  army,  and  we  are  in  the 
field  until  we  win  the  fight.  In  the  name  of  all  we  represent,  we 
welcome  you  here  to-night  at  this  grand  gathering." 

Rev.  Sam  Small,  of  Georgia,  was  to  have  made  the 
address  of  notification  to  General  Fisk,  but  became  train- 
bound  and  did  not  arrive  in  time.  His  place  was  well 
filled  by  Chairman  Samuel  Dickie,  of  the  National 
Committee,  who  closed  with  this  utterance  : 

"  We  come  to  say  to  you,  General  Fisk,  that  among  Prohibitionists 
you  are  the  best-loved  man  in  this  entire  Union.  In  behalf  of  the 
Indianapolis  Convention  we  tender  to  you  the  nomination  for  Presi 
dent  of  th§  United  States." 

As  General  Fisk  stepped  forward  to  respond,  the 
whole  vast  audience  rose  as  one  man — from  floor  to  high 
fifth  gallery — and  gave  him  royal  greeting.  Cheer  after 
cheer  ascended ;  handkerchiefs  fluttered  from  the 
boxes,  a  cloud  of  waving  white  ;  the  band  struck  up 
"  America,"  and  scores  of  American  flags  waved  rhyth 
mic  unison  with  its  majestic  measures  ;  the  ovation  of  a 
month  before  was  repeated  and  magnified  in  a  fashion 
wonderful  to  hear  and  to  behold. 

After  many  minutes  of  this  magnificent  and  persistent 
demonstration,  when  General  Fisk  was  able  to  command 
silence,  he  spoke  as  follows  : 


AT   HIS   SEABRIGIIT   HOME.  245 

"  MR.  CHAIRMAN  :  This  thronging  multitude  of  noble  men  and 
women  ;  this  vast  assemblage,  representative  of  the  best  life  in  the 
Republic,  crowding  every  part  of  this  vast  temple  ;  this  group  of 
strong,  earnest,  resolute  man-  and  womanhood  on  this  platform,  in 
which  Georgia  and  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Michigan,  New  York  and 
New  Jersey,  clasp  hands  in  one  of  the  holiest  covenants  ever  made  ; 
these  eloquent  and  soul-stirring  utterances  of  speech  and  song  ; 
these  waving  banners  and  waves  of  enthusiasm— all  these  give  in 
spiration  and  help  to  one  whose  heart,  throbbing  with  grateful  emo 
tion  for  honors  undeserved— for  partiality  which  ought  to  have  been 
bestowed  on  another — would  with  imperfect  utterance  respond  to 
the  message  borne  to  him  from  that  most  wonderful  gathering  at 
Indianapolis, 

"  '  Beneath  whose  banners,  proud  to  stand, 
Looked  up  the  noblest  in  the  land  ' — 

that  convention  which  commanded  the  respect,  the  wonder  and  the 
admiration  of  the  country.  What  it  said  has  received  the  hearty 
commendation  of  the  friends  of  true  and  Christian  government  all 
over  the  land,  without  distinction  of  race,  color,  sex,  or  previous 
condition  of  political  servitude.  What  it  did  in  its  closing  hour  has 
seriously  disturbed  the  peace  of  at  least  one  household,  which  in  its 
home  by  the  sea  has  these  many  days  been  inquiring,  '  What  are  the 
wild  waves  from  Indianapolis  saying  ? '  The  response  comes  to  us 
this  evening  by  the  way  of  Evanston  and  Atlanta. 

"  Let  us  see  for  a  moment  where  wo  stand.  On  the  Indianapolis 
platform,  of  course,  which,  after  solemnly  acknowledging  Almighty 
God  as  the  source  of  all  power  in  government,  has  for  its  Alpha  and 
Omega  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic.  First  and  last  that  is  the 
dominant,  the  all- controlling  issue  in  our  national  politics.  Differing 
judgments  there  may  be  on  other  issues,  but  on  the  utter  destruction 
of  the  American  saloon  we  are  of  one  mind,  and  heartily  invite  to  full 
party  fellowship  with  us  all  who  are  with  us  on  that  point  agreed. 

' '  We  believe  that  a  host  of  good  men  will  come  thronging  into  our 
camp  in  the  immediate  future.  Men  of  thought  and  conscience, 
who  have  been  waiting  the  weary  years  away,  hoping  that  the  politi 
cal  party  with  which  they  have  had  alliance,  would  say  some  em 
phatic  words,  do  some  brave  deed  on  the  side  of  this  great  reform, 
and  declare  that  the  saloon  should  not  sit  supreme  in  caucus  con 
vention  and  canvas.  The  campaign  for  1888  has  opened.  Its  ban 
ners  and  bandannas  have  been  thrown  to  the  breeze.  Platform  utter 
ances  have  been  read  in  every  hamlet,  and  carefully  studied  in  a 
million  American  homes  to  ascertain  what  was  said  in  Indianapolis, 


246  LIFE   OF  CLINTOtf   BOWEN   FISK. 

jSt.  Louis,  and  Chicago  on  the  greatest  question  now  being  debated 
among  the  people  of  this  country.  Home  protection  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  list.  Home  protected  against  the  saloon  will  be  the 
greatest  factor  in  protecting  the  honest  industries  of  our  people. 

' '  Indianapolis  plainly  declared  '  That  the  manufacture,  importa 
tion,  exportation,  transportation,  and  sale  of  alcoholic  beverages  shall 
be  made  public  crimes  and  prohibited  as  such  ;  that  such  prohibition 
must  be  secured  through  amendment  to  our  national  and  State  con 
stitutions,  that  any  form  of  license,  taxation,  or  regulation  of  the 
liquor  traffic  is  contrary  to  good  government  ;  that  any  party  which 
supports  regulation,  license,  or  tax,  enters  into  alliance  with  such 
traffic  and  becomes  the  actual  foe  of  the  State's  welfare.'  It  declares 
'  for  the  immediate  abolition  of  the  internal  revenue  system  which 
now  gluts  our  national  Treasury  with  revenue  from  the  blood  and 
tears  of  American  homes.'  There's  no  ambiguity  or  want  of  clear 
ness  in  these  utterances. 

"  Let  us  turn  over  a  leaf  and  see  what  St.  Louis  said  on  this  all- 
absorbing  question.  Not  a  word  do  we  find.  There  was  a  repetition 
of  the  same  old  story — 1884  was  reaffirmed — '  We  must  not  vex  the 
citizen  with  sumptuaiy  laws.'  In  the  gray  of  the  world's  morning 
the  original  chairman  of  the  committee  on  sumptuary  laws  said  the 
same  thing  in  a  discussion  with  Mother  Eve  on  the  subject  of  pro 
hibition.  No  word  of  hope  from  St.  Louis. 

"  Surely  from  Chicago  on  the  wings  of  the  lightning  there  will 
come  deliverances  on  this  question  that  will  gladden  the  hearts  of 
thousands  who  in  all  sincerity  believed  and  waited  with  patient  faith 
and  prayer  for  the  words  that  did  not  come.  The  Anti-Saloon 
maiden,  never  very  robust,  after  a  lingering  illness,  during  which 
kindly  hands  had  ministered  to  her,  and  sleepless  eyes  had  watched 
over  her,  finally  found  rest,  *  after  life's  fitful  fever,'  in  Chicago. 
Death  stole  in  so  gently  upon  the  suffering  one.  We  know  the  f aith- 
ful-to-the-last  friends  who,  with  breaking  hearts  and  tearful  eyes, 
sang  at  the  funeral  obsequies  in  the  great  convention  auditorium  the 
touching  lines  of  Tom  Hood  : 

"  '  We  watched  her  breathing  through  the  night, 

Her  breathing  soft  and  low, 
As  in  her  breast  the  wave  of  life 
Kept  heaving  to  and  fro. 


'  Our  very  hopes  belied  our  fears, 
Our  fears  our  hopes  belied  ; 

We  thought  her  dying  when  she  slept, 
And  sleeping  when  she  died.1 


AT   HIS   SEABKIGHT   HOME.  247 

"  Dear  friends,  the  problem  of  the  liquor  traffic  will  be  solved  only 
by  a  national  political  party  making  Prohibition  the  corner-stone  of 
its  creed.  No  party  can  successfully  combat  the  monstrous  evil  that 
does  not  make  such  declarations  as  shall  alienate  from  its  ranks  every 
rum-seller.  There  aro  a  host  of  good  men  in  this  land  who  in  these 
June  days  of  1888  are  reaching  that  conclusion  for  the  first  time. 
They,  like  many  of  us,  hoped  against  hope.  They  are  coming  into 
our  camp.  Public  opinion,  the  mightiest  advocate  of  any  cause,  is 
gathering  force  day  by  day  and  is  marshalling  that  force  a  mighty 
host  in  our  ranks.  The  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  nation  will 
rise  as  one  man  and  demand  that  the  liquor  traffic  shall  cease 
throughout  our  land.  We  stand  on  the  threshold  of  a  great  national 
campaign  for  the  right.  Our  watchword  is  not  the  destruction  of 
any  party,  but  the  destruction  of  the  American  saloon.  Let  our 
camp  fires  gleam  from  every  summit  and  illume  every  valley  in  the 
land.  The  combined  forces  of  Christian  home,  Christian  Church, 
and  Christian  commonwealth  must  be  put  in  battle  array  against  the 
infamous  wrong. 

"  In  response  to  the  command  of  the  chosen  thousand  at  Indian 
apolis  who  bade  me  go  to  the  front  of  this  sharp  conflict,  I  have  now 
to  say,  God  helping  me,  I  will  carry  your  flag  in  this  contest.  I 
know  well  what  will  be  the  cost  to  me  and  those  whom  I  hold  as  dear 
as  life  itself  ;  I  also  know  that  God  thrones  the  right  at  last  in  king- 
lier  royalty  because  its  coronation  is  delayed,  and  that  neither  earth 
nor  hell  can  permanently  harm  those  who  are  '  followers  of  that 
which  is  good. ' 

"  We  uplift  a  national  banner  under  which  sectionalism  and  sec 
tional  strife  shall  be  forever  buried— North  and  South,  East  and 
West,  all  join  hands  in  our  good  cause. 

"  There  will  be  those  who  will  be  '  exceedingly  mad  against  us,' 
and  who  will  persecute  us  even  to  strange  cities.  Let  me  exhort  our 
friends  everywhere  to  give  our  enemies  a  monopoly  of  personal  scan 
dalous  methods  of  conducting  political  campaigns.  Let  us  exalt  our 
holy  cause,  and  trusting  in  Him,  in  whose  hands  are  the  destinies  of 
individuals  and  nations,  go  forward  with  courage,  faith,  and  hope 
until  victory,  certain  to  come,  shall  be  ours." 

This  speech  was  frequently  interrupted  by  applause, 
and  when  General  Fisk  said,  with  deep  feeling  yet  ring 
ing  utterance,  "  I  will  carry  your  flag,"  there  came  an 
other  mighty  outbreak  of  enthusiasm,  which  had  to 
spend  itself  before  he  could  proceed. 


248  LIFE    OF   CLINTON    BOWEN    FISK. 

In  graceful  and  appropriate  sentences  Hon.  "W".  J. 
Groo  tendered  the  Vice-Presidency  to  Rev.  Dr.  Brooks, 
whose  address  of  response  kept  the  enthusiastic  demon 
strations  in  frequent  repetition,  while  his  opening  words 
excited  another  wild  scene  like  those  climaxes  which  had 
preceded.  At  the  outset,  he  said  : 

"  I  believe  in  governmental  progress.  The  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment  should  at  least  keep  abreast  of  our  advancing  civilization. 
Amid  the  onward  march  of  financial,  educational,  and  moral  inter 
ests,  we  cannot  hope  to  draw  our  inspiration  as  statesmen  from  the 
resolutions  of  '98,  or  the  dead  issues  of  the  sixties. 

"  As  an  old  slave-holder,  I  am  here  to-night  to  attest  my  joyful  ac 
ceptance  of  the  result,  and  I  speak  for  nine  tenths  of  my  section. 
General  Fisk,  whom  for  the  first  time  I  meet  to-night,  helped  to  form 
the  party  that  was  mainly  instrumental  in  the  accomplishment  of 
this  result.  I,  on  the  other  hand,  stood  with  the  party  committed 
against  the  principle,  and  did  all  in  my  power  to  prevent  it.  I  come 
to-day,  across  half  the  continent,  to  say  to  him  that  he  was  right  and 
I  was  wrong,  and  now,  over  the  bloody  chasm  of  that  dreary  past, 
will  clasp  his  hand  and  say,  Let  there  be  no  further  animosity  be 
tween  us.  To-night  let  us  send  forth  the  cry,  with  clasped  hand, 
'  No  more  sectionalism  in  American  politics  !  No  more  solid  South 
or  solid  North  ! '  " 

As  the  two  candidates  clasped  hands  before  that  vast 
multitude,  tears  of  patriotic  joy  overflowed  thousands  of 
cheeks,  and  the  cheers  which  resounded  were  prophetic 
of  the  new  national  unity  which  a  new  political  dispen 
sation  should  bring. 

An  eloquent  address  followed  by  Miss  Frances  E. 
Willard,  and  the  opening  formalities  of  the  Prohibition 
campaign  of  1888  were  ended,  the  campaign  was  for 
mally  begun,  with  General  Fisk  duly  commissioned  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  moral  forces  that  should  wage 
it,  and  bearing  in  his  faithful  hands  the  white  flag  that 
shall  be  never  a  flag  of  truce  with  national  sin,  but  al 
ways  a  signal  of  aggressive  warfare  and  of  ultimate  vic 
tory,  "  For  God,  and  home,  and  native  land." 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

WORDS    OF    PATRIOTISM. 

THE  platform  demands  for  General  Fisk,  always  nu 
merous,  and  calling,  even  when  but  infrequently  accept 
ed,  for  much  travel  and  sacrifice  of  time,  became  con 
stant  and  importunate  right  after  his  nomination  for  the 
Presidency,  and  would  have  made  him  a  speedy  martyr 
to  the  cause.  He  wisely  decided  to  meet,  during  the 
months  of  July  and  August,  only  those  engagements,  for 
camp  and  other  special  occasions,  which  antedated  the 
new  pressure  upon  him.  Among  these  was  one  at  Rose- 
land  Park,  Woodstock,  Conn.,  where,  every  Fourth  of 
July,  Mr.  Henry  C.  Bowen,  publisher  of  the  Indepen 
dent,  groups  a  few  great  orators,  and  celebrates  with  them 
and  his  chosen  friends,  and  a  large  concourse  from  the 
country  round,  our  national  anniversary.  Upon  this 
occasion  General  Fisk  represented  the  temperance  idea, 
as  a  year  previous  Senator  Windom,  of  Minnesota,  had 
represented  it,  and  his  reception  was  very  cordial.  One 
of  the  speakers  preceding  him  was  Senator  Frye,  of 
Maine,  who  argued  for  Protection  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  Republican  Party,  and  who  made  a  vigorous  ap 
peal  to  General  Fisk  that  he  retire  from  his  leadership 
of  the  Prohibitionists  and  stand  with  his  old  associates 
for  their  defence  of  American  industry  and  American 
interests.  The  General  happily  turned  Mr.  Frye's  allu 
sions  back  upon  him,  and  scored  a  strong  point  for  the 
Prohibition  Party  as  being  far  more  in  favor  of  protect- 


250  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEN   FISK, 

ing  honest  labor  and  all  true  American  interests  than 
any  party  can  be  which  leaves  the  saloon  untouched. 
He  said  : 

"  Mr.  President,  Friends,  and  Fellow- Citizens  : 

"  I  am  sure,  my  friends,  it  was  no  doleful  announcement  that  I 
was  to  be  the  last  speaker  of  this  occasion.  On  some  festival  day 
where  Job  was  interested  and,  many  friends  came,  and  the  day  was 
passed  in  orations,  you  remember  that  just  before  sunset  some  one 
said,  '  Is  there  to  be  no  end  of  words  this  day  ?  '  Of  course,  here 
tofore,  the  words  have  been  such  that  you  have  not  been  inclined  to 
make  any  suggestion.  I  shall  not  detain  you  very  long,  although  I 
notice  this,  that  all  people  'that  speak  from  a  platform  or  a  pulpit,  if 
they  say  they  are  going  to  speak  short,  always  make  a  long  speech  of 
it  ;  but  I  for  one  am  going  to  make  a  short  speech  of  it. 

"  I  count  it  no  light  honor  that  my  father  and  mother  were  born 
in  Windham  County  ;  that  but  a  few  miles  from  here  on  the  Five 
Mile  River,  the  village  blacksmith  in  the  first  decades  of  this  cen 
tury  was  my  father  ;  that  in  the  little  church  at  Killingly  my  mother 
was  one  of  the  sweetest  singers  in  the  choir.  So  that  I  feel  very 
much  at  home  in  Windham  County,  although,  like  the  Irishman,  I 
wasn't  born  in  my  native  State.  I  couldn't  help  that.  I  was  born 
out  West,  and  not  here,  as  Brother  Lounsbury  has  stated  ;  and,  as  a 
good  Methodist,  I  shall  not  keep  you  all  night  on  probation. 

"  If  my  friend  Erye  were  here  (he  had  stepped  from  the  platform) 
I  should  be  inclined  to  pitch  into  him  for  a  moment  or  two  ;  for  the 
people  I  represent  are  the  genuine  protectionists  of  this  country. 
We  begin  at  first  principles  ;  we  protect  the  home,  and  we  would 
have  a  protection  equal  to  anything  he  preached,  and  all  ours  be 
yond  that.  Why,  he  said,  in  building  his  factory  in  Woodstock,  that 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  $400,000  would  go  to  working-people.  Well, 
now,  we  will  build  in  the  same  way.  But  according  to  Mr.  Pow- 
derly's  careful  estimate,  of  that  $360,000  paid  to  the  working-people 
in  Woodstock,  $110,000  would  be  dropped  into  the  tills  of  the  dram 
shops,  if  you  have  them  there.  Now,  we  would  save  all  that.  We 
would  save  this  vast  sum.  that  the  working-people  of  this  country 
pay  for  liquor  all  over  the  country,  in  order  that  it  might  be  used  in 
progress  out  of  poverty  ;  in  order  that  it  might  be  used  by  these 
working-people  that  are  paid  good  wages  (and  I  wouldn't  have  them 
paid  a  dollar  less),  in  greater  comforts  for  the  home,  in  better  civil 
ization  throughout  all  the  land. 

"  Now,  I  have  in  my  hands,  I  suppose,  the  most  able  speech  ever 


WOKDS   OF   PATRIOTISM.  251 

prepared.  I  am  not  going  to  give  it  all  to  you  ;  it  is  too  good  ;  you 
couldn't  bear  it.  I  shall  give  you  some  of  it,  and  for  that  which  I 
don't  read  to  you  or  speak  to  you  I  refer  you  to  the  Independent,  that 
newspaper  which  should  be  in  every  man's  family  in  this  broad  land. 
My  family,  they  say,  are  remarkable  for  their  culture  and  attain 
ments  ;  they  have  always  read  the  Independent. 

"  My  friend  Frye  here  to-day,  in  turning  to  me  so  gracefully,  in 
timated  that  I  stood  in  the  way  of  a  great  triumph.  It  is  not  so  at 
all.  Why,  if  my  friend  Frye  and  all  his  people  instead  of  throwing 
away  their  votes  on  somebody  else  next  November — if  they  wo.uld 
only  vote  for  me  [loud  laughter],  how  quickly  we  would  turn  those 
wicked  Democrats  out  of  office.  [Laughter.] 

"  Again  we  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  American 
liberty  was  born  and  placed  in  her  iron  cradle.  The  country  pauses  to 
remember  and  rejoice,  and  with  reverent  heart  lifts  its  voice  in  praise 
and  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  hath  '  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation.' 

"  It  was  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  ago  last  Monday  when  the 
Continental  Congress  declared  that  the  United  Colonies  were,  and  of 
right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States.  -John  Adams  said 
that  they  were  that  day  considering  the  greatest  question  ever  de 
bated  on  the  continent,  and  that  no  greater  question  would  ever  be 
debated  among  men.  '  I  am  apt  to  believe,'  said  Mr.  Adams,  '  that 
it  will  be  celebrated  by  succeeding  generations  as  the  great  anniver 
sary  festival.'  In  writing  Mrs.  Adams,  he  said  :  '  The  day  ought  to 
be  commemorated  as  the  day  of  deliverance  by  solemn  acts  of  devo 
tion  to  Almighty  God.  Let  it  be  solemnized  with  pomp  and  parade, 
with  guns,  bells,  and  illuminations  from  one  end  of  this  continent 
to  the  other  from  this  time  forward  fore  verm  ore.' 

"  In  the  mighty  march  of  time,  in  the  procession  of  great  events, 
that  Declaration  of  Independence  Day  in  Philadelphia  took  its  place 
by  the  side  of  the  great  exodus  from  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  when 
Moses  stretched  his  hand  across  the  gulf  of  the  centuries  and  rocked 
the  cradle  of  American  liberty.  It  took  step  with  that  bright  day  in 
June  of  the  thirteenth  century  when  in  the  long  meadow  of  Runny- 
mede  the  English  barons  met  King  John,  and  amid  the  splendor  of 
that  impressive  and  brilliant  scene  demanded  and  received  from  that 
cruel  and  perfidious  king,  under  the  frowning  towers  of  "Windsor 
Castle,  the  foundations  of  England's  liberty  in  Magna  Charta. 

"  Independence  was  born  on  July  the  second  ;  its  baptism  was  on 
the  fourth  by  that  great  apostle  of  freedom  Thomas  Jefferson,  the 
beginning  of  whose  enduring  fame  was  the  immortal  State  paper 
which  promulgated  the  Bill  of  Bights  and  assigned  the  new  Republic 


252  LIFE   OF   CLINTOX    BOWEK   FISK. 

a  place  among  the  powers  of  the  world.  Adams  and  Jefferson, 
Franklin  and  Witherspoon  were  the  towers  of  strength  which  stood 
foursquare  to  all  the  winds  that  blew  ;  grand,  iron-sided,  lion- 
hearted  John  Witherspoon,  of  New  Jersey,  that  sturdy  patriotic  Gos 
pel  minister,  that  eloquent  preacher  of  the  Christian  faith  in  whom 
combined  rare  scholarship  and  broad  statesmanship,  a  worthy  suc 
cessor  of  Jonathan  Edwards  at  Princeton.  John  Witherspoon  'a 
prayer  for  God's  blessing  in  wisdom,  righteousness,  and  guidance 
was  answered  with  a  baptism  of  power,  and  faith,  and  courage  that 
had  its  glad  fruitage  when  he  in  the  last  hour  of  that  great  debate 
rose,  and  said  :  '  The  time  for  decided,  firm  action  has  come.  The 
country  is  not  only  ripe  for  independence,  but  if  its  declaration  is 
longer  delayed,  we  are  in  danger  of  becoming  rotten  for  want  of  it.' 
To  that  eloquent  utterance  came  a  responsive  patriotic  *  Amen  '  from 
Franklin,  Jefferson,  and  Adams,  and  '  freedom  from  tyranny '  rang 
through  Independence  Hall. 

"  It  was  just  a  sweep  of  a  century  from  the  hour  that  James  Otis, 
in  1761,  became  the  first  torch -bearer  in  the  old  Kevolution,  to  that 
day  in  1861  when  out  of  dark  and  portentous  clouds  came  the  thun 
der  and  lightning  of  civil  strife  and  '  States  dissevered,  discordant, 
and  belligerent,  a  land  rent  with  civil  feud  and  drenched  with  fra 
ternal  blood,'  burst  upon  the  vision  of  a  startled  world.  In  1620 
there  sailed  upon  the  ocean  two  ships  whose  prows  were  turned 
toward  the  western  shores  of  the  Atlantic  ;  one,  a  Dutch  slave-ship, 
landed  its  cargo  of  living  freight  as  slaves  upon  the  coast  of  Vir 
ginia.  In  the  cabin  of  the  '  Mayflower, '  the  other  ship,  were  the  Pil 
grim  Fathers,  who,  on  the  rocky  coasts  of  New  England,  planted  the 
seeds  of  liberty.  Slavery  and  freedom  grew  together  on  our  soil,  an 
irrepressible  conflict  from  the  beginning.  We  pause  not  to  tell  the 
story  of  the  great  strife  out  of  which  the  nation  had  a  new  birth  of 
freedom.  The  end  came,  and  the  immortal  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln  at 
Gettysburg  that  this  '  Government  of  the  people  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people '  would  not  perish  from  the  earth  were  a  fulfilled 
prophecy.  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  had  been  a 
promise  spoken  in  the  ear  of  prophecy  but  belied  by  the  facts  all 
around  it,  became  true  in  right,  true  in  fact  all  over  this  broad  land. 
From  the  darkness  and  gloom,  from  the  smoke  and  flame  of  battle, 
'mid  the  music  of  the  breaking  of  the  fetters  of  human  bondage,  we 
came  forth  to  victory,  our  love  of  justice  increased,  the  foundation 
of  our  institutions  more  firmly  cemented,  the  blessings  of  peace 
secured  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  the  pulse  of  the  nation 
throbbed  with  a  new  life. 


WORDS   OF   PATRIOTISM.  253 

"  True  and  Christian  government  rests  upon  great  truths  and  im 
mortal  principles.  Adherence  to  fundamentals  that  underlie  a  gen 
uine  Christian  civilization  is  the  only  guarantee  of  national  stability. 
It  is  wise  to  pause  on  this  day  of  gratulation  and  joy  and  consider 
the  perils  of  our  national  life  ;  and  while  we  have  just  pride  in  the 
possession  of  constitutional  liberty  and  statutes  framed  for  its  de 
fence  and  perpetuation,  let  us  remember  that  human  constitutions, 
human  enactment,  and  human  government  are  manifestly  vital  only 
as  subordinate  to  the  eternal  constitution,  the  eternal  enactment,  the 
eternal  government  of  God.  The  Latin  lyrist  said  to  ancient  Eome  : 
'  While  you  bear  yourselves  subordinate  to  the  gods  you  hold  em 
pire.'  Our  rapid  growth  in  population  and  wealth,  our  National 
Treasury  bursting  with  fulness,  peace  and  unity  within  our  borders 
— all  these  cannot  perpetuate  national  life  and  glory  if  there  be  the 
breath  of  the  pestilence  upon  us,  and  a  gigantic  wrong  permitted  to 
sit  in  all  the  places  of  political  power  in  municipality,  county,  city, 
State,  and  nation. 

"  A  heavier  yoke  than  that  the  British  king  placed  upon  the  neck 
of  our  Revolutionary  fathers  is  upon  us  and  our  children.  A  bond 
age  more  abject  than  that  which  lifted  its  destroying  hand  against 
the  Union  a  score  and  more  of  years  ago  is  forging  its  fetters  for  the 
enslavement  of  the  Bepublic.  By  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpa 
tions  King  Alcohol,  through  the  liquor  traffic  in  this  goodly  land, 
openly  declares  his  ability  to  reduce  us  to  his  despotic  rule  by  his 
control  of  the  dominant  political  organizations  of  the  country.  From 
a  mount  of  patient  sufferance  let  us  on  this  Fourth  of  July  in  Hose- 
land  Park  make  a  new  Declaration  of  Independence.  Let  us  resolve 
to  throw  off  the  Government  of  the  American  saloon.  Almost  a  score 
of  years  ago,  in  the  capital  of  the  State  within  whose  boundaries 
there  comes  to  us  the  generous  hospitality  out  of  which  springs  this 
festival  occasion,  one  of  Connecticut's  honored  sons,  now  represent 
ing  your  State  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  whose  voice 
this  morning  summoned  us  to  a  conscientious  consideration  of  per 
sonal  temperance,  Hon.  O.  H.  Platt,  with  prophetic  soul,  startled  his 
fellow-citizens  with  his  burning  words,  eloquently  spoken  on  the 
great  theme  we  now  consider.  Mr.  Platt  said  :  '  I  do  most  firmly 
believe  that  unless  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  in  this  country 
shall  cease,  or  be  materially  diminished,  the  result  will  be  the  complete  over 
throw  of  our  Republican  Government.'  While  Mr.  Platt  was  speaking 
so  earnestly  this  morning — and  he  said  such  great  truths,  and  he  did 
it  admirably— I  could  not  help  thinking  how  many  men  there  are, 
moderate  drinkers,  that  would  not  be  drunkards  at  all  if  there  were 


254  LIFE    OF    CLINTON    BOWEtf    FISK. 

no  open  saloon  doors  in  this  country.  Let  us  slam  that  door  to.  I 
hold  up  before  you  rum- selling  and  rum-drinking  as  the  foes  of  national 
existence.  The  danger  of  the  Republic  is  that  men  do  not  realize  the 
truth  of  this,  I  wish  I  could  make  all  men  who  love  their  Govern 
ment  see  this  great  peril  of  the  nation.  Let  us  not  shut  our  eyes  to 
the  danger.  The  Republic  must  triumph  over  rum,  or  rum  will  tri 
umph  over  the  Eepublic.  All  history  teaches  this  ;  observation  and 
reason  confirm  it.  The  sale  and  use  have  not  ceased,  nor  '  materi 
ally  diminished,'  but,  on  the  contrary,  largely  increased,  and  Senator 
Platt's  words  should  find  lodgment  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his 
countrymen.  There  yet  echoes  through  these  matchless,  charming 
grounds,  on  yonder  height,  and  over  yon  beautiful  lake,  the  elo 
quent  words  spoken  on  this  platform  one  year  ago  to-day  in  the  in 
dictment  found  against  the  monstrous  monarch.  Let  us  recall  some 
of  the  sentences  then  uttered.  Their  repetition  ought  to  inspire  us 
to  rise  up,  and  with  one  heart  and  one  mouth  make  our  new  decla 
ration.  The  presiding  officer  here  one  year  ago  was  that  genial 
gentleman,  ex-Governor  Long,  of  Massachusetts,  whose  happy 
thoughts  so  happily  expressed  on  Independence  Day  caused  your 
hearts  to  throb  with  joy  and  filled  your  souls  with  patriotic  fervor. 
Governor  Long,  in  introducing  ex-United  States  Senator  Windom, 
one  of  the  best  men  the  marvellous  Northwest  ever  contributed  to 
the  Senate  or  Cabinet,  said  :  '  Wo  have  kept  until  the  last  the  most 
practically  important  subject  that  is  to  be  discussed  to-day  on  this 
platform  ;  the  subject  is  "  The  Saloon  in  Politics,"  a  subject  that  of 
late  has  begun  to  command  the  close  and  careful  attention  of  all 
thinking  people,  and  will  command  it  more  and  more,  and  is  to  be  a 
factor  in  our  State  and  our  national  party.  There  ought  to  be  no 
difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  this  great  tyranny  that  is  begin 
ning  to  put  its  clutch  upon  the  throat  of  American  politics— the 
tyranny  of  the  grog-shop.' 

"  Mr.  Windom  said  :  '  The  discussion  of  this  subject  seems  to  me 
quite  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  Perhaps  the  highest  honor  we 
can  pay  to  the  founders  of  our  Government,  is  to  accept  with  pro 
found  gratitude  the  blessings  which,  under  God,  they  have  transmit 
ted  to  us,  and  to  face  with  manly  courage  and  patriotic  determina-- 
tion  whatever  problems  remain  to  be  solved.  Among  those  prob 
lems  none  are  so  grave  and  pressing,  and  none  threaten  consequences 
so  disastrous  to  all  that  is  most  sacred  in  our  institutions,  as  are  in 
volved  in  the  American  saloon  system.  In  the  wide  sweep  of  its 
malign  influence  it  touches  and  threatens  the  very  warp  and  woof  of 
our  social,  political,  and  industrial  organisms, 


WORDS    OF    PATRIOTISM.  255 

"  '  How  to  curtail  and  finally  destroy  this  evil  is  the  great  problem 
of  the  hour.  Its  solution  stands  next  on  the  world's  calendar  of 
progress.  It  has  been  called  for  trial,  and  cannot  be  dismissed  or 
postponed.  The  saloon  has  boldly  entered  politics,  and  it  has  come 
to  stay  until  vanquished  or  victorious. 

"  '  Briefly  stated,  the  question  is,  Shall  the  liquor  power,  with  its 
dire  and  deadly  influences,  rule  and  ruin,  or  shall  it  be  utterly  de 
stroyed  ? 

"  '  This  malign  power  has  organized  and  massed  its  mighty  forces 
for  the  conflict.  It  has  raised  the  black  flag,  and  proclaimed  that  he 
who  will  not  swear  allegiance  to  it,  and  thereby  become  particeps 
criminis  in  its  work  of  destruction  and  death,  shall  politically  perish. 
It  has  even  drawn  the  assassin's  knife  and  lighted  the  torch  of  the 
incendiary,  in  order  to  inspire  dismay  in  the  ranks  of  its  enemies. 
The  time  has,  therefore,  come  when  this  issue  must  be  met.  Politi 
cal  parties  can  no  longer  dodge  it  if  they  would.  Private  citizens 
must  take  sides  openly  for  or  against  the  saloon,  with  its  methods 
and  its  results.  "  Neutrality  is  henceforth  impossible  ;  indifference 
is  henceforth  a  betrayal  of  the  trust  involved  in  citizenship, ' ' 

"  '  The  saloon  creates  a  demand  where  none  before  existed,  that  it 
may  profit  by  supplying  that  demand.  It  artificially  stimulates  an 
evil  habit,  that  it  may  thrive  by  pandering  to  it.  It  methodically 
breeds  debauchery,  poverty,  anarchy,  and  crime  for  pay.  It  pur 
posely  seeks  to  multiply  the  number  of  drinkers,  and  hence  of  drunk 
ards.  It  invades  every  new  community,  demands  tribute  from  every 
home,  and  lies  in  wait  with  fresh  enticements  for  each  new  gener 
ation  of  youth.  .  .  .  Each  one  of  our  two  hundred  thousand  drink- 
ing-places  forms  a  distinct  centre  of  aggressive  forces  and  skilful 
devices  for  spreading  the  drink  habit  among  men.  Every  plausible 
temptation  and  solicitation  that  trained  talent  can  suggest  are  used 
to  entrap  the  young,  the  ignorant,  the  toiling,  and  the  homeless, 
with  the  knowledge  that  a  customer  once  secured  is  usually  a  cus 
tomer  for  life.  .  .  .  Experience  indicates  that  four  fifths  of  Ameri 
can  drinking  and  drunkenness  is  due  in  the  first  instance  not  to  any 
natural  appetite  of  our  people,  but  to  the  presence  and  sleepless 
efforts  of  this  gigantic  enginery,  working  seven  days  a  week  and 
twenty-four  hours  a  day,  unrestrained  by  any  scruple  and  every 
where  contemptuous  of  public  and  private  right.' 

"  This  is  by  no  means  an  overdrawn  picture  of  a  system  which  in 
sists  upon  the  right,  untrammelled  by  law  or  conscience,  to  manu 
facture  drunkards,  paupers,  and  criminals.  To  maintain  this  right 
the  saloon  power  has  organized  its  vast  forces,  formed  its  political 


256  LIFE   OF   CLINTON    BOWEK    FISK. 

alliances,  and  now,  conscious  of  its  strength,  bids  open  defiance  to 
law  and  public  sentiment.  To  maintain  the  right  to  get  money  by 
the  wholesale  destruction  of  life,  health,  and  property,  it  corrupts 
the  ballot,  bribes  Legislatures,  tampers  with  juries,  and  seeks  to  in 
timidate  the  weak  and  cowardly  by  arson  and  assassination. 

"  In  most  of  our  cities  the  drinking  saloon  is  the  central  power 
around  which  politics  revolve,  and  which  dictates  candidates  and 
party  politics.  Even  in  our  national  elections  it  sometimes  exercises 
a  controlling  influence  and  decides  Presidential  contests. 

"  Not  less  than  eighty  thousand  victims  go  annually  to  the  drunk 
ard's  grave  from  the  homes  of  this  land.  Pestilence  and  war  com 
bined  do  not,  in  this  country,  equal  its  destructive  energy.  The 
waste  of  human  life  wrought  every  five  years  by  our  two  hundred 
thousand  saloons  is  equal  to  the  destruction  of  life  by  both  armies, 
numbering  millions  of  armed  men,  during  the  entire  War  of  the  Re 
bellion.  In  their  hands  strong  drink  is  a  weapon  so  fatal  that  the 
five  hundred  thousand  drunkard-makers  are  able  to  accomplish  more 
in  the  same  period  than  four  times  their  number  could  with  shot  and 
shell,  fire  and  sword,  and  all  the  appliances  of  modern  warfare.  The 
cruelty  of  war  is  not  measured  by  the  number  of  those  who  fall  in 
battle,  but  by  the  unutterable  woe  and  bitter  anguish  of  broken 
hearts  and  desolated  homes.  Most  emphatically  is  it  true  that  the 
mere  destruction  of  eighty  thousand  lives  every  year  affords  no 
measure  of  the  relentless  cruelty  of  the  liquor  power  in  its  war 
against  society.  To  realize  this  you  must  go  to  the  dishonored 
homes,  question  the  broken  hearts,  read  the  voiceless  misery  in  wan 
and  haggard  faces,  hear  helpless  children  cry  for  food,  see  them 
stricken  down  by  drunken  and  infuriated  fathers,  and  sometimes 
even  by  besotted  mothers,  witness  the  debauchery  and  ruin  of  youth, 
and  the  utter  degradation,  ignorance,  poverty,  and  misery  which 
everywhere  and  always  accompany  the  victims  of  the  saloon. 

' '  Alas,  how  true  and  terrible  is  this  indictment  of  the  saloon  ! 
Oh,  that  from  every  hill-top  and  valley,  from  mountain  and  prairie, 
from  city  and  hamlet,  from  Lakes  to  Gulf,  and  from  sea  to  sea  there 
might  this  day  arise  the  united  voice  of  our  sixty  millions  of  people 
in  most  solemn  Declaration  of  Independence  of  this  cruel  king  whose 
injuries  and  usurpations  threaten  the  destruction  of  our  free  Govern 
ment  !  As  did  our  fathers  when  they  resolved  to  throw  off  the  abso 
lute  tyranny  of  a  bad  king,  so  let  us  give  certain  facts  to  a  candid 
world. 

"  This  monster,  sitting  supreme  in  the  politics  of  this  country, 
has  enacted  laws  authorizing  him  to  open  in  all  our  towns  and 


WOBDS   OF    PATRIOTISM.  257 

cities  slaughter-houses  of  men,  women,  and  children,  and  of  all 
virtue. 

"  He  has  enacted  laws  permitting  him  to  transform  men  into 
beasts. 

"He  is  the  direct  cause  of  nine  tenths  of  the  woes  and  sorrows 
which  blight  and  curse  our  people. 

' '  He,  hiding  his  monstrous  deformity  under  the  forms  of  law 
enacted  by  his  own  vassals,  over  whose  heads  he  cracks  the  slave- 
driver's  lash  in  halls  of  legislation,  maintains  at  our  expense  an  army 
of  miscreants,  who  at  the  very  doors  of  our  homes,  and  in  the  shad 
ows  of  our  sanctuaries,  prosecute  the  work  of  murder  and  death. 

"  He  has  despoiled  labor,  burdened  property  with  excessive  tax 
ation,  impoverished  whole  communities,  hindered  education,  cor 
rupted  morals,  fostered  crimes,  aided  all  classes  of  vice  and  wrong, 
and  plunged  his  unhappy  victims  into  shame  and  degradation. 

"  He  would  have  us  transmit  to  our  children  a  heritage  of  distil 
leries,  breweries  and  saloons,  and  chain  to  the  weary  backs  of  society 
increasing  burdens  of  paupers,  criminals,  idiots,  and  insane. 

1 '  He  seizes  and  debauches  innocent  children,  tears  sons  from  the 
arms  of  sorrowing  mothers,  and  bears  them  away  to  dishonored 
graves. 

"  He  wrings  hot  tears  from  the  eyes  of  widows  whose  husbands 
he  has  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  the  drunkards'  Moloch. 

"  He  sits  supreme  in  the  National  Congress  and  makes  laws  in  the 
country's  capital. 

"  He  governs  courts  of  justice,  and  makes  ministers  of  the  law 
and  legislatures  his  lackeys. 

"  He  silences  the  preacher  in  his  pulpit,  and  muzzles  the  editor  at 
his  desk. 

"  He  wastes,  directly  and  indirectly,  in  his  revels,  annually  more 
than  a  thousand  millions  of  our  dollars,  and  marshals  in  his  stagger 
ing  procession  to  death  and  hell  a  half  million  of  our  people. 

' '  He  is  a  cold,  heartless,  cruel  murderer  and  assassin  of  the  deep 
est  dye. 

"  He  counts  his  victims  by  millions.  His  butcheries  go  on  daily 
and  nightly  within  sight  of  the  portals  of  our  homes.  We  can  hear 
the  shrieks  of  his  victims  and  the  wail  of  the  bereaved. 

"He  is  the  howling,  prowling,  destroying  wolf,  with  scorching, 
fierce  breath,  descending  upon  every  fold,  slaying  and  devouring  our 
best  loved.  Let  us  rise  in  our  united  might  as  did  our  ancestors 
in  Old  Windham  at  the  call  of  Israel  Putnam  on  Pomfret  Heights  in 
the  last  century.  Let  us  hunt  this  wolf  to  his  den  and  shoot  him. 


258  LIFE    OF    CLINTOK    BOWEK    FISK. 

"  The  time  would  fail  ine  to  tell  the  thousandth  part  of  the  evils, 
multiplying  and  destructive,  that  flow  out  of  the  infamous  liquor 
traffic,  and  in  all  this  vast  throng  the  great  evil  has  no  friend.  Dear 
friends,  have  we  the  courage  this  day  to  issue,  and  thereto  affix  our 
signatures  in  the  pronounced  handwriting  of  John  Hancock,  our  new 
Declaration  of  Independence  ;  and  with  a  firm  reliance  on  Divine 
Providence,  pledge  our  lives,  and  fortune,  and  our  sacred  honor  that 
from  this  day  henceforth  no  word  or  act  of  ours  may  be  construed 
into  allegiance  to  this  felon  king?  He  must  be  driven  from  his 
places  of  power  and  utterly  overthrown.  The  conflict  is  upon  us. 
It  is  a  life-and-death  struggle.  Oh,  for  an  uprising  of  righteous  in 
dignation,  for  an  aroused  American  conscience,  for  patriotic  devo 
tion  to  home  and  country  like  that  which  gave  inspiration  and  faith 
to  Jonas  Parker  and  his  neighbors  when  they  reddened  the  village 
green  of  Lexington  with  their  blood  on  that  glorious  morning  a  cen 
tury  and  more  ago,  when  the  old  Revolution  burst  into  magnificent 
blossoms  as  the  shot  was  fired  that  echoed  round  the  world  ;  for  an 
enlightened  public  opinion,  the  mightiest  advocate  of  any  question, 
for  the  combined  forces  of  Christian  home,  Christian  Church,  and 
Christian  commonwealth  in  battle  array  against  the  traffic  in  theft 
and  murder  until  it  shall  be  thundered  from  every  political  Sinai, 
national  and  State,  '  Thou  shalt  not, '  and  there  shall  be  no  legalized 
saloon  where  floats  the  starry  flag  of  the  free  !  Not  until  then  will 
the  infamous  business  cease  ;  not  until  then  will  we  be  delivered 
from  its  Satanic  sorceries.  Temporizing  policies  are  a  failure. 

* '  Under  all  systems  of  license,  regulation  or  tax,  the  work  of  ruin 
and  death  goes  on.  Myriads  of  homes  are  poisoned,  the  prosperity 
of  the  nation  is  undermined,  the  strength  of  our  race  wasted,  mill 
ions  are  hurried  to  early  and  dishonored  graves,  and  a  lurid  shadow 
is  cast  upon  the  life  beyond.  The  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  is 
the  demand  of  the  people,  and  politicians  and  statesmen  who  fail  to 
heed  it  are  treasuring  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath.  Prohibi 
tion  is  in  the  air.  The  nation's  heart  is  beginning  to  throb  to  its 
music.  Its  coming  is  whispered  on  every  breeze.  The  rising  tide 
breaks  all  along  the  shore,  and  each  succeeding  white-fringed  billow 
washes  farther  up  the  strand. 

"  Nothing  can  resist  the  onward  march  of  a  genuine  reform.  Every 
such  movement  enters  into  and  becomes  a  part  of  the  Messianic  pur 
pose  to  set  judgment  in  the  earth.  Agitation  on  this  question  is  the 
duty  of  the  hour.  Let  it  go  on  from  press,  platform,  and  pulpit,  in 
the  prayer -meetings,  and  at  the  ballot-box,  until  every  patriot  who 
loves  his  country,  every  Christian  who  loves  his  God,  every  phUau- 


WORDS   OF    PATRIOT^M.  259 

thropist  who  loves  his  race,  every  father  who  loves  his  child,  every 
son  of  the  Republic,  will,  a  marshalled  host,  uplift  the  Constitution  as 
a  banner  of  reform,  and  under  its  folds  march  to  the  ballot-boxes  of 
the  land,  and  under  an  avalanche  of  freemen's  ballots  bury  beyond 
resurrection  the  American  saloon.  Then  shall  our  whole  Union  be 
come  the  citadel  of  sobriety,  the  national  name  be  purged  of  this  great 
shame,  and  our  glorious  banner, 

"  '  Whose  hues  are  all  of  heaven, 

Its  red  the  sunset's  dye, 
The  whiteness  of  the  moonlit  cloud, 
The  blue  of  morning  sky, '  " 

shall  be  the  flag  of  hope  for  all  mankind  as  it  floats  over  our  sober, 
free,  and  happy  people — 

"  '  O'er  the  high  and  o'er  the  lowly 
Floats  that  banner  bright  and  holy, 
In  the  rays  of  freedom's  sun, 
In  our  nation's  heart  embedded, 
O'er  our  Union  newly  wedded, 
One  in  all,  and  all  in  one. 


Let  that  banner  float  forever  ! 

May  its  lustrous  stars  pale  never, 

Till  the  stars  shall  pale  on  high  ; 
While  there's  right  the  wrong  defeating, 
While  there's  faith  in  true  hearts  beating, 

Truth  and  freedom  shall  not  die. 


'  As  it  floated  long  before  us, 
Be  it  ever  floating  o'er  us, 
O'er  our  land  from  shore  to  shore  ! 
There  are  freemen  yet  to  wave  it, 
Millions  who  would  die  to  save  it, 
Wave  it,  save  it,  evermore.'  " 


One  other  formality  remained  for  General  Fisk,  even 
though  his  speech  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House  had 
formally  placed  him  before  the  country  as  its  Prohibition 
candidate  for  President.  According  to  custom,  there 
must  be  a  written  acknowledgment  of  his  nomination, 
and  this  he  made  in  the  following  : 


260  LIFE   OF   CLItfTOl*   BOWEtf   FISK. 


LETTER  OF   ACCEPTANCE. 

SBABBIOHT,  N.  J.,  July  25,  1888. 

HON.  SAMUEL  DICKIE,  Chairman : 

MY  DEAR  SIB  :  With  a  grateful  sense  of  the  honor 
conferred  upon  me  by  the  Prohibition  Party,  at  its  late 
National  Convention,  and  with  equal  appreciation  of  the 
responsibilities  involved  therein,  I  accept  the  nomination 
which  I  did  not  seek,  and  which  I  earnestly  desired 
should  pass  me  by,  and  with  God's  help  will  bear  our 
standard  of  Prohibition  as  best  I  can  through  this  Presi 
dential  campaign.  And  thus  formally  responding  to  the 
formal  notification  received  at  your  hands,  it  is  fit  and 
proper  that  I  add  some  further  words. 

Within  a  few  years  the  temperance  reform  has  alto 
gether  changed  front.  In  the  great  conflict  which  has 
been  and  yet  is  waging,  temperance  forces  no  longer 
face  human  appetite  and  habit  alone  ;  they  oppose  legis 
lation,  law,  the  purpose  of  political  parties,  the  policy  of 
State  and  nation.  What  law  creates,  law  alone  can  kill. 
The  creature  of  law,  the  saloon — the  liquor  traffic — can 
die  only  at  law's  hand,  or  the  hand  of  law's  executor. 
^Conceived  in  avaricious  iniquity,  born  of  sinful  legisla 
tive  wedlock,  the  licensed  saloon,  the  legalized  liquor 
traffic,  bastard  child  of  a  civilization  professing  purity 
and  virtue,  must  be  strangled  by  the  civilization  which 
begat  it,  or  that  civilization  must  go  forever  branded 
with  the  scarlet  letter  of  its  own  shame. 

It  is  not  enough  that  we  reform  the  individual  ;  we 
must  reform  the  State.  The  policy  of  great  common 
wealths,  of  a  whole  people,  must  be  re-made  and  put  in 
harmony  with  sound  economic  principles,  the  true  co 
operation  of  industrial  effort,  the  essential  conditions  of 


LETTER   OF   ACCEPTANCE.  261 

national  prosperity,  and  the  genuine  brotherhood  of 
man. 

So  broad  a  demand  as  this  can  be  met  in  bnt  one  way. 
It  has  been  well  said  :  "  A  political  reform  can  become 
a  fact  in  government  only  through  a  political  party  that 
administers  government. "  A  reform  so  vast  as  this  we 
advocate,  involving  such  radical  changes  in  State  and 
national  policy,  is  utterly  dependent,  for  its  agitation 
and  consummation,  upon  some  party  agent  or  force.  To 
give  it  success,  to  make  it  indeed  and  indisputably  a  fact, 
that  party  force  or  agent  must  be  in  full  accord  with  the 
reform,  and  must  have  in  itself  the  power  of  successful 
achievement  apart  from  those  elements  and  influences 
alien  to  the  reform.  No  party  which  is  made  public 
administrator  by  the  enemies  of  temperance,  or  which 
owes  the  election  of  its  candidates  to  saloon  influences, 
can  ever  establish  Prohibition  as  a  binding  fact  in  govern 
ment  anywhere. 

It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  I  accepted  these  con 
clusions  and  came  to  admit  the  imperative  need  of  a  new 
party,  while  yet  the  party  of  my  old  choice — the  national 
Republican  Party — maintained  its  organization.  I  had 
followed  with  pride  and  patriotic  love  that  party's  flag, 
while  above  it  floated  the  Starry  Banner  for  which  so 
many  brave  patriots  fell.  I  had  seen  that  party  establish 
as  a  fact  in  government  one  political  reform  dear  to  me 
from  boyhood,  a  boon  to  millions  in  bondage  and  a  glory 
to  us  all.  A  long,  long  time  I  waited,  against  conviction 
and  the  logic  of  political  events,  hoping  that  my  old 
party  would  take  up  this  old  reform  with  changed  front 
and  new  conditions,  and  make  it  also  the  fact  so  many  mill- 
ons  craved,  and  for  which  they  pleaded  before  men  and 
God.  It  cost  me  the  sacrifice  of  cherished  associations, 
when,  four  years  ago,  I  enrolled  myself  in  the  ranks 


262  LIFE   OF   CLINTON   BOWEN   FISK. 

of  party  Prohibitionists,  under  the  flag  of  Prohi 
bition  bleached  snowy  white  by  the  tears  of  smitten 
women  and  children  through  generations  of  sorrow  and 
want. 

I  have  seen  no  hour  of  regret.  Every  day  since  then 
has  shown  yet  more  clearly  the  logic  of  my  course,  and 
the  inevitable  truth  of  my  conclusions.  In  Michigan,  in 
Texas,  in  Tennessee  and  Oregon,  so-called  non-partisan 
efforts  to  establish  Prohibition  have  failed  through  par 
tisan  necessity  born  of  liquor  elements  in  old-party  com 
position.  In  Iowa,  and  Rhode  Island ,  and  Maine,  the  laws 
have  been  shamelessly  defied  for  like  reason.  The  entire 
trend  of  things,  these  last  four  years,  has  proven  hope 
less  the  broader  range  of  Prohibition  effort  through  non- 
partisan  means,  and  equally  futile,  as  a  final  consumma 
tion,  the  narrower  methods  of  local  option  and  high 
license  ;  while  from  the  Supreme  Court  itself  has  come, 
with  startling  emphasis,  a  declaration  so  nationalizing 
this  reform  that  it  can  never  be  made  of  local  or  State 
limitation  again.  No  lines  of  territorial  wish  or  will  can 
hereafter  bar  the  liquor  traffic  and  its  fearful  brood, 
while  by  national  policy  that  traffic  is  recognized  as 
legitimate,  and  while  under  that  policy  the  National 
Government  derives  revenue  therefrom. 

The  National  Democratic  Party  in  its  platform  utters 
no  word  in  condemnation  of  the  greatest  foe  of  the  Re 
public — the  liquor  traffic.  That  party  having  stead 
fastly,  in  its  utterances  at  national  conventions,  main 
tained  its  allegiance  to  the  American  saloon,  it  was  no 
disappointment  to  any  one  that  at  St.  Louis,  in  1888,  it 
reaffirmed  its  old  position  on  this  the  greatest  question 
now  being  debated  among  men. 

"  The  first  concern  of  good  government,"  said  the 
recent  National  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago,  "  is 


LETTER   OF    ACCEPTANCE.  263 

the  virtue  and  sobriety  of  the  people,  and  the  purity  of 
the  home." 

He  venue,  then,  is  not  the  Government's  chief  concern, 
whether  coming  from  internal  taxation  or  from  a  tariff 
on  importations  ;  and  any  source  of  revenue  which  dis 
counts  "  the  virtue  and  sobriety  of  the  people  "  and 
begets  impurity  in  the  home,  should  be  the  first  object 
assailed  by  every  party  professing  to  seek  good  govern 
ment  ;  while  the  revenue  derived  from  such  a  source 
should  be  the  first  to  be  forsworn — not  alternatively,  for 
sake  of  a  protective  tariff,  but  positively,  for  sake  of  pro 
tection  dearer  and  more  vital  than  the  tariff  can  ever 
yield.  Had  I  not  left  the  Republican  party  four  years 
ago,  I  should  be  compelled  to  leave  it  now,  when,  after 
reading  the  words  I  have  quoted,  from  a  resolution  sup 
plemental  to  but  not  included  in  its  platform,  and  find 
ing  in  these  words  my  own  idea  of  government's  "  chief 
concern"  set  forth,  I  search  the  long  platform  through 
in  vain  to  find  condemnation  of  the  saloon,  or  hint  of 
purpose  to  assail  it,  or  any  sign  of  moral  consciousness 
that  the  saloon  is  a  curse,  and  its  income  too  unholy  for 
the  nation  to  share. 

If  the  "  chief  concern  "  has  no  place  in  a  party's  plat 
form,  and  a  party  has  no  policy  as  to  that  "  chief  con 
cern,  "  that  party  does  not  deserve  the  support  of  men 
who  love  good  government  and  would  see  it  maintained. 

The  Eepublican  Party  knows  to-day,  and  knew  at 
Chicago,  in  June,  that  the  public  surplus,  which  in  1884 
it  declared  dangerous,  and  then  proposed  to  reduce, 
comes,  about  ninety  per  cent  of  it,  from  a  source  more 
dangerous  than  the  surplus — the  liquor  traffic. 

When  the  greatest  Republican  statesman  declared,  in 
1883,  that  "it  is  better  to  tax  whiskey  than  farms,  and 
homesteads,  and  shops,"  he  knew,  as  he  and  his  col- 


264  LIFE   OF   CLIKTOtf   BOWEN   FISK. 

leagues  know  now,  that  to  tax  whiskey  is  to  tax  farms, 
arid  homesteads,  and  shops — since  it  is  always  these  which 
pay  the  tax — that  nine  tenths  of  the  surplus  represents 
want  in  the  home,  impurity  in  the  home-life,  crime  on 
the  street,  paralysis  in  the  shop,  and  an  impaired  demand 
for  the  products  of  the  farm.  These  men  must  know 
these  things,  for  these  things  are  plain  as  the  multiplica 
tion-table.  And  they  must  realize  that  the  swift  way  to 
reduce  the  surplus  is  to  end  the  national  policy  of  rev 
enue  from  liquor  ;  that  the  right  way  is  to  end  it  by  de 
claring  the  manufacture,  importation,  transportation  and 
sale  thereof  public  crimes  against  good  government,  and 
by  prohibiting  and  punishing  them  as  such. 

The  Prohibition  Party's  "  chief  concern"  is  for  the 
purity  of  the  home  and  the  virtue  and  sobriety  of  the 
people.  It  asserted  this,  in  plain  and  unmistakable 
terms,  at  Indianapolis  ;  and  it  further  plainly  said  that 
"  the  burdens  of  taxation  should  be  removed  from  food, 
clothing,  and  other  necessaries  of  life."  It  is  to-day 
the  only  avowed  and  consistent  party  ally  which  the 
home  and  labor  have,  for  it  would  make  the  blessings 
of  home  cheap,  and  remove  altogether  its  curses  ;  it 
would  bring  labor  to  sobriety,  and  ensure  employment ; 
it  would  keep  the  factories  busy  to  clothe  labor,  the 
farms  active  to  feed  it,  and  would  give  to  our  whole  in 
dustrial  system  the  impetus  of  a  prosperity  never  yet 
known,  and  never  possible  till  the  saloons  are  put  away. 

That  party  is  not  labor's  truest  friend  which  would 
bar  the  importation  of  paupers  from  abroad,  or  close  the 
tariff  door  of  competition  to  pauperized  foreign  indus 
try,  and  then  by  a  liquor  system  perpetuate  the  manu 
facture  of  paupers  and  criminals  in  our  own  midst,  with 
whom  honest  labor  must  compete,  and  whom  largely 
honest  labor  must  support. 


LETTER  OF   ACCEPTANCE.  2G5 

I  shall  bear  with  glad  heart  and  reverent  hands  the 
only  party  standard  on  which  is  inscribed — "  For  God, 
and  Home,  and  Native  Land  ;"  the  standard  of  the  only 
party  which  recognizes  God  as  the  source  of  government, 
and  would  defend  His  holy  day  from  desecration  ; 
which  is  the  guardian  of  home's  best  interests  and  the 
defender  of  the  nation  through  these  ;  and  which,  bury 
ing  the  dead  past  of  sectional  strife  and  bitterness,  would 
build  a  living  future  on  the  sure  basis  of  sober  man 
hood,  and  pure  womanhood,  and  untainted  youth,  for  all 
our  united  country. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  aid  in  the  good  work  of  restor 
ing  peace  and  goodly  fellowship,  and  in  assisting  to  estab 
lish  industrial  relations  under  the  new  order  of  things,  at 
the  South,  after  war  had  swept  bare  so  large  an  area  of 
our  national  heritage  ;  and  I  hold  no  other  service  of  my 
life  of  such  account  as  that  which  brought  order,  and  the 
return  of  property,  and  the  rights  of  protected  labor,  to 
a  large  region  prostrated  by  the  arbitrament  of  arms. 
And  now,  when  more  than  twenty  years  have  passed, 
and  the  last  sword  of  rebellion  has  been  beaten  into  the 
ploughshare  of  loyal  peace,  and  a  new  South,  knowing  no 
other  than  the  Union  flag,  rejoices  in  the  nation's  "  new 
birth  of  freedom,' '  I  count  it  the  truest  glory  of  patriot 
ism  to  lead  where  men  of  the  South  and  men  of  the  North 
alike  may  follow,  black  as  well  as  white,  with  equal  faith 
in  the  national  reform  to  be  achieved,  with  equal  fidelity 
to  the  Union  we  would  protect  from  its  only  remaining 
foes.  And  I  rejoice  that,  standing  on  the  platform  so 
well  framed  at  Indianapolis,  which  so  admirably  recog 
nizes  other  great  principles  than  this  of  Prohibition — de 
claring,  as  we  do  declare,  that  citizenship  "  rests  on  no 
mere  circumstance  of  race,  color,  sex,  or  nationality," 
and  affirming,  as  we  always  shall  affirm,  the  full  rights 


266  LIFE  OF  CLINTONT   BOWEK  FISK. 

of  citizenship  for  all — standing  ever,  as  we  must,  for  the 
defence  of  the  weak  and  the  oppressed,  we  can  and  do 
assert  that  Prohibition  is  ' '  the  dominant  issue  in  national 
politics,"  and  we  can  and  do  "  invite  to  full  party  fellow 
ship  all  who  on  this  one  dominant  issue  are  with  us 
agreed,"  believing  that,  as  we  settle  this  broad  question 
for  the  right  so  shall  we  best  conserve  the  welfare  of  our 
entire  nation  and  of  every  class  within  it,  so  shall  we 
make  certain  the  wise  and  speedy  settlement  of  every 
lesser  question  involved  and  arising,  so  shall  we  prove 
ourselves  Christian  patriots,  and  ordain  the  perpetuity 
of  this  Christian  Republic. 

Faithfully  yours, 

CLINTON  B.  FISK. 


JOHN  A.  BROOKS. 


JOHN   ANDERSON    BROOKS. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  ANDERSON  BROOKS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BOYHOOD    AND    YOUTH. 

JOHN  ANDERSON  BROOKS  was  born  in  Mason  County, 
Ky.,  in  1836,  on  the  farm  which  had  been  his  grand 
father's.  His  father,  John  T.  Brooks,  was  born  there  in 
1808,  and  was  educated  for  and  became  some  time  a 
practitioner  at  the  bar,  but  later  devoted  himself  to  the 
Christian  ministry  as  a  member  of  the  Church  of  the 
Disciples.  John  T.  Brooks  married  Elizabeth  B.  Ander 
son,  daughter  of  Captain  John  "W.  Anderson,  a  wealthy 
planter  and  slave-owner  of  Mason  County  ;  and  her 
mother,  before  marriage,  was  a  Cook.  The  Andersons 
and  Cooks  were  originally  from  Virginia,  and  related  to 
the  large  and  influential  families  of  like  nomenclature  in 
that  State. 

Soon  after  Miss  Anderson  married  Mr.  Brooks,  her 
father  lost  all  his  property,  and  died,  leaving  his  heirs  in 
destitute  circumstances.  Nor  was  Mr.  Brooks  in  much 
better  condition.  The  once  large  estate  of  his  father 
had  dwindled  to  a  small  holding,  encumbered  with  debt, 
and  a  few  slaves  ;  and  yet  these  must  be  made  to  sup 
port  the  widow  and  three  daughters,  while  somehow  the 
son  should  find  support  also  for  himself  and  wife.  This 
was  the  problem  of  life  with  which  John  T.  Brooks  was 
wrestling  when  his  boy's  recollections  begin,  and  which 


270  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

occupied  all  that  good  man's  earlier  years.  Add  to  its 
difficulties  the  conviction  that  he  must  preach  the  Gos 
pel,  and  so  subtract  from  his  business  opportunities  and 
results,  and  you  reach  the  exact  situation  which  obtained 
in  the  Brooks  household  when  John  A.  came  to  a  boyhood 
he  can  now  recall. 

His  father,  'Squire  Brooks,  as  commonly  designated, 
though  a  preacher,  was  not  liberally  educated,  for  the 
sole  school  advantages  enjoyed  by  him  were  those  of  the 
log  school- house  in  that  neighborhood.  But  he  had  the 
quickness  of  intellect  and  tenacity  of  purpose  born  of 
early  mixed  English,  Irish,  and  Welsh  blood,  and  he 
largely  made  up  for  lack  of  outside  educational  advan 
tages  by  private  study  and  persistent  application.  Hence 
he  read  law,  and  was  able  to  practice  it,  and  studied  the 
ology  sufficiently  to  become  a  preacher,  though  striving 
meanwhile  to  make  the  small  farm  and  the  few  negroes 
yield  a  living  for  those  dependent  upon  these  and  him 
for  maintenance.  He  became  eminent  in  the  church  of 
his  faith  for  excellent  judgment,  the  use  of  classical  Eng 
lish,  and  strong  presentation  of  truth.  He  died  in  Mis 
souri,  in  1877,  some  years  after  removal  there,  and  while 
devoting  himself  partly  to  editorial  duties  on  the  Mexico 
Ledger.  Of  his  worth,  a  leading  contemporary  said  : 

"  He  was  an  able  minister  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  as  an  edi 
torial  writer  one  of  the  ablest  in  the  State.  One  of  the  earliest  recol 
lections  of  this  writer  was  of  the  grave  and  dignified  appearance,  the 
always  neatly  dressed  form,  and  proud  step  of  Esquire  Brooks,  as  he 
was  called  in  all  the  country  side  of  Mason  County,  Ky.  We  say 
proud,  for  he  was  :  proud  of  his  good  name  and  stainless  lineage  ; 
and  he  had  reason  to  be  proud,  for  the  blood  that  coursed  his  veins 
was  blue  as  that  of  any  kingly  Stuart.  A  better  man  or  purer  Chris 
tian  never  lived  or  died  in  any  age  or  country,  and  the  boy 
whose  waywardness  he  has  often  gently  chided,  now  grown  to 
manhood,  hastens  to  lay  this  votive  garland  upon  his  honored 
tomb." 


BOYHOOD    AND    YOUTH.  271 

The  early  opportunities  of  John  A.  Brooks  were 
meagre.  Comparative  poverty  surrounded  him,  and 
forbade  both  the  sports  and  the  study  common  to  young 
lads.  When  very  small  he  was  set  to  field  labor  with 
the  negroes  on  the  little  farm.  If  he  had  shown  less 
ambition,  perhaps,  he  might  have  been  spared  some  toil, 
but  even  at  seven  years  of  age  he  was  eager  to  do  the 
work  of  a  man,  and  home  conditions  made  all  effort 
needful.  At  that  time  his  father  was  one  day  ploughing 
in  oats  with  an  old-fashioned  shovel-plough,  and  the  will 
ing  boy  asked  permission  to  try  his  hand.  His  father 
consenting,  he  made  a  round  or  two,  and  succeeded  so 
well  that  he  was  left  in  possession  of  the  field — to  his 
great  regret,  as  he  would  afterward  confess.  Two  years 
later  the  double-breaking  plough  followed,  with  all  the 
severe  labor  which  that  implied  ;  and  to  this  day  he  feels 
a  kind  of  pity  for  the  boy  he  was,  considering  the  work 
he  was  set  to  do. 

A  white  lad  among  black  field-hands,  with  high  spirit 
and  untamed  will,  he  was  ambitious  to  lead  ;  and  lead 
he  would.  In  his  father's  absences  as  a  preacher,  the 
master  of  all  work  was  Simon,  a  lusty  negro,  who  bossed 
everything,  and  was  the  easy  leader  of  those  under  him. 
One  command  of  'Squire  Brooks  to  John  was  that  he 
should  never  try  to  lead  Simon,  or  to  excel  him  ;  that 
Simon  must  remain  the  acknowledged  first  at  every  task. 
It  was  a  prohibition  irksome  to  the  boy  destined  one 
day  to  become  a  leader  of  Prohibitionists,  and  he  had  for 
a  long  time  an  unconquerable  desire  to  violate  paternal 
law  and  put  Simon  in  the  shade.  He  did  this,  too,  at 
last.  Having  excelled  all  the  others  with  the  reap-hook, 
and  borne  the  taunts  of  old  Simon  several  days,  he  de 
termined  to  down  that  black  overseer  anyhow.  Start 
ing  in  behind  the  gang,  with  Simon  at  the  fore,  he 


272  LIFE  OF  JOHN   ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

passed  one  by  one  till  reaching  Simon's  side.  Then 
there  was  a  quiet  race  for  some  rods,  when  with  a  sud 
den  spirit  the  fifteen -year-old  boy  went  by  the  black 
man,  and  swept  on  exultant,  while  all  but  Simon  shouted 
over  his  defeat.  With  Simon  it  did  not  end  in  "  thumbs 
up."  Simon  was  "  down,"  indeed,  and  too  much  hu 
miliated  even  for  complaint  to  the  boy's  father,  but 
many  a  time  afterward  John  suffered  at  the  old  slave's 
hands  for  this  deadly  offence. 

Tobacco  was  the  principal  crop  in  Mason  County,  and 
its  care  continued  the  better  part  of  every  year.  It  was 
only  in  "  the  betweens"  of  tobacco  handling  that  the 
hard-worked  lad  could  have  school  chances  at  all ;  and 
these  "  betweens"  were  brief.  They  came  never  while 
the  crop  was  growing,  and  in  winter,  while  its  curing 
went  on,  they  afforded  but  broken  opportunities  for 
study.  Loving  books,  however,  and  quick  to  learn,  and 
so  athirst  for  knowledge  that  he  would  sacrifice  any 
thing  to  attain  it,  John's  progress  when  at  school  kept* 
easy  pace  with  those  about  him,  and  held  him  abreast  of 
his  companions  in  every  branch  of  study  pursued.  He 
had  such  resolute  will  that  he  could  and  often  did  work 
hard  all  day  and  then  toil  at  his  text-books  half  the 
night.  Many  a  time  his  mother  went  to  his  room  and 
robbed  him  of  his  light  at  a  late  hour,  that  he  should  be 
forced  to  abandon  study  and  seek  sleep.  He  read  with 
avidity  every  volume  on  which  he  could  place  his  hand  ; 
and  it  was  during  these  years  of  growing,  toiling  boy 
hood  that  he  gained  his  extensive  knowledge  of  history 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  college  course. 

He  was  a  great  favorite  at  home  and  at  school.  Com 
bative  by  nature,  active  in  disposition,  of  a  temperament 
high-wrought  and  impulsive,  he  yet  made  friends  of 
young  and  old.  He  sought  no  encounters  of  any  kind, 


BOYHOOD    AND    YOUTH.  273 

save  those  of  peaceful  rivalry,  but  when  assailed  he  was 
not  slow  to  respond. 

His  controversial  activities  began  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years.  Hon.  Elijah  Currens  then  brought  together  the 
youth  of  that  community  in  his  own  parlors,  and  organ 
ized  them  into  a  debating  society,  wherein  John  A. 
Brooks  took  eager  part.  Four  years  later  the  same 
gentleman,  then  Grand  Worthy  Patriarch  of  the  Sons  of 
Temperance,  granted  a  special  dispensation  and  admitted 
him  to  the  local  division,  preliminary  to  taking  him 
around  the  adjacent  country  for  temperance  talks.  He 
had  evinced  such  talent  for  public  speaking,  thus  early, 
that  Mr.  Currens  felt  justified  in  this  course  ;  and  thus 
his  temperance  work  began  when  he  was  yet  but  a 
stripling. 

At  seventeen  he  entered  Bethany  College  as  a  Fresh 
man,  and  pushed  rapidly  to  the  front.  Here,  as  before, 
he  would  not  let  others  lead.  He  was  in  haste  to  know 
and  to  do.  He  hungered  for  the  severer  contests  of  act 
ual  life.  His  ambition  craved  mastery,  and  a  place 
where  there  were  masterful  chances.  He  crowded  a 
four  years'  curriculum  into  three,  and  graduated  with 
honors  in  1856. 

In  college  his  mental  tendencies  were  confirmed,  and 
his  moral  convictions  fixed.  A  wide  reader,  and  deeply 
interested  in  current  topics  of  debate,  he  became  a  parti 
san  as  naturally  as  young  men  of  his  type  must.  Beth 
any  College,  situated  on  the  border-line  between  free 
dom  and  slavery,  and  receiving  students  from  both  sides 
of  that  line,  was  an  active  theatre  of  discussion  and  of 
partisanship,  touching  the  great  question  that  was  as 
much  up  for  settlement  between  1852  and  1857  as  is  the 
liquor  traffic  now.  There  met  in  daily  contact,  the  hot- 
blooded  fire-eater  of  the  South,  the  hot-headed  Aboli- 


274:  LIFE    OF    JOHN    ANDERSON    BROOKS. 

tionist  of  the  North,  and  the  cooler  conservative  from 
either  section,  who  daily  discussed  the  issue  of  those 
times. 

Young  Brooks  was  radically  Southern,  in  temper  and 
sympathy,  and  he  took  the  extreme  Southern  side.  Yet 
with  all  his  fire  and  vigor  he  stood  for  free  speech.  He 
considered  the  black  man  inferior,  and  fit  only  to  be  a 
slave  ;  but  for  the  white  man  who  held  otherwise  he 
claimed  the  right  of  opinion,  and  the  right  to  voice  that 
opinion  when  and  where  he  would.  Upon  one  occasion 
an  older  fellow-student,  of  opposite  political  faith, 
preached  an  Abolition  sermon,  and  nearly  all  the  slavery 
advocates  but  Brooks  left  the  church  before  it  was 
ended,  and  hastily  prepared  to  mob  the  Northern  offender 
when  he  should  come  forth.  Brooks  and  a  few  others 
declared  against  the  outrage,  and  said  they  would  de 
fend  the  young  man  with  their  lives.  They  formed  a 
cordon  around  him  as  he  left  the  church,  and  saw  him 
safely  home.  Brooks  hated  the  utterances  of  the  Abo 
litionist,  and  despised  him  for  making  them,  but  in 
sisted  that  freedom  of  speech  must  be  preserved. 

Up  to  the  beginning  of  his  college  course  Mr.  Brooks 
had  intended  to  enter  the  legal  profession,  and,  young  as 
he  was,  had  commenced  the  elementary  study  of  law 
under  his  father's  direction.  But  the  teaching  and 
preaching  of  Alexander  Campbell  changed  the  whole 
trend  of  his  life.  The  conviction  that  he,  too,»must  be 
come  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  as  his  father  had  become, 
grew  upon  him,  and  would  not  be  put  away.  He  strug 
gled  against  it  long  and  bitterly.  His  temperament  in 
clined  him  with  strong  leanings  to  a  career  where  com- 
bativeness  would  tell  most  efficiently,  and  in  which  he 
could  exercise  his  controversial  talents  to  the  fullest  ex 
tent.  He  rebelled  against  the  milder  and  more  serene 


BOYHOOD    AND    YOUTH.  275 

work  of  the  ministry.  Yet  lie  accepted  it  in  full  and 
final  surrender  of  liis  own  desire,  and  leaving  Bethany 
when  but  twenty  years  old,  went  about  his  Master's 
work  with  prompt  cheerfulness,  as  ambitious  to  push 
forward  in  that  as  in  his  boyish  labors  gone  by. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TASTOR    AND    COLLEGE    PRESIDENT. 

MR.  BROOKS  began  preaching  in  the  same  community 
where  he  was  raised,  and  began  with  "  a  protracted 
meeting."  He  had  but  three  sermons  arranged,  and 
probably  did  not  apprehend  the  success  which  came. 
People  rallied  for  miles  around,  and  the  movement  grew 
in  power  from  the  start.  The  young  preacher  grew 
with  it,  and  went  forward  successfully  without  the  prep 
aration  usually  deemed  indispensable.  The  excitement 
spread  beyond  that  locality  ;  his  name  became  widely 
familiar  ;  and  for  five  years  he  was  occupied  in  Mason 
and  the  adjoining  counties  of  Northern  Kentucky,  in 
pastoral,  evangelical,  and  controversial  effort,  with  re 
sults  quite  surprising.  Thousands  were  brought  into 
the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  which  received  an  impetus 
of  growth  and  an  accession  of  influence,  through  all  that 
region,  gratifying  and  lasting.  There  must  have  been 
strong  magnetism  in  the  young  man,  and  unusual  pulpit 
gifts,  to  yield  such  a  harvest,  even  where  the  fields  were 
white. 

During  his  first  year's  ministry,  he  met  in  his  native 
county  Miss  Sue  E.  Osborn,  one  of  Kentucky's  beautiful 
and  accomplished  young  ladies,  of  a  rare,  refined  nature, 
almost  ethereal,  and  won  her  to  himself.  They  were 
married  on  October  14th,  1857,  and  in  three  weeks,  with 
heart  near  to  breaking,  the  young  husband  laid  her 
away — 


PASTOR   AND   COLLEGE   PRESIDENT.  277 

"  But  a  cold,  white  silence,  with  sainted  face, 
And  a  smile  that  an  angel  of  God  might  grace." 

He  coveted  release  from  service  thereabouts,  and 
wished  greatly  to  go  where  memories  would  not  be  so 
abundant  and  powerful ;  he  made  up  his  mind,  in  fact, 
to  remove  to  Missouri,  where  already  his  parents  had 
gone.  But  Flemingsburg  held  him  for  a  series  of  meet 
ings  there,  and  keeping  this  engagement  fixed  the  after 
course  of  years.  The  church  at  Flemingsburg  invited 
him  to  remain  as  its  pastor  when  the  revival  meetings 
were  over.  He  declined,  still  meaning  to  go  West.  The 
presiding  elder,  a  brother  of  Governor  Bishop,  of  Ohio, 
asked  him  what  salary  would  induce  him  to  stay,  and  he 
named  figures  which  were  intended  to  overmatch  any 
possible  seriousness  of  consideration  ;  but  Mr.  Bishop 
accepted  them  at  once,  and  concluded  the  contract  on  the 
spot. 

He  was  not  permitted,  however,  to  settle  down  at  ease 
in  the  pastoral  care  of  one  church.  He  went  about 
much,  as  has  been  intimated,  in  evangelistic  ways,  and 
erelong  found  himself  drawn  into  religious  controversy, 
to  which,  it  may  be  assumed,  he  had  no  grave  objec 
tion.  The  Methodists  and  the  Disciples  came  somehow 
into  heated  public  debate,  and  it  was  natural,  perhaps 
inevitable,  that  Mr.  Brooks  should  stand  as  the  defender 
of  his  Church.  He  was  called  for  from  many  places, 
and  gladly  met  every  call.  Popular  feeling  ran  high. 
Men  of  all  classes  grew  absorbed  in  the  sectarian  discus 
sions  going  on,  and  the  topics  there  considered  were  up 
for  debate  as  well  on  every  highway  and  at  every  country 
store.  For  the  pulpit  contests  the  best  talent  was  em 
ployed  on  both  sides,  and  logic,  wit,  keen  retort,  and 
profound  erudition  had  their  frequent  opportunity. 
One  of  Mr.  Brooks's  most  notable  debates,  with  Rev. 


278  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON    BROOKS. 

Dr.  Fitch,  in  Winchester,  Ky.,  had  pamphlet  publica 
tion  and  was  widely  scattered. 

The  encounter  most  happy  for  Mr.  Brooks  was  at 
Bethel,  Bath  County,  for  during  that  discussion  he  met 
Miss  Sue  E.  Robertson,  to  whom,  after  a  brief  court 
ship,  he  was  married,  in  1859.  She  possessed  remark 
able  attractions,  and  was  much  sought  after,  but  the 
brilliant  and  impetuous  young  Disciple  cleared  the  field 
of  all  competitors,  and  has  been  supremely  grateful  for 
his  good  fortune  ever  since.  To  them  have  been  born 
five  children,  one  of  whom  lived  but  a  few  weeks. 
John  T.,  the  only  son,  is  now  married  and  in  business  at 
Kansas  City  ;  Lida,  the  oldest  daughter,  has  been  sev 
eral  years  her  father's  private  secretary,  and  is  known 
and  loved  by  the  temperance  workers  of  Missouri  ; 
Bessie  is  just  blooming  into  womanhood,  and  five-years- 
old  Susie  is  the  pet  and  favorite  of  all.  Dr.  Brooks 
freely  admits  the  helpful  influence  of  his  wife  upon  all 
his  life  these  nearly  thirty  years.  He  needed,  he  con 
cedes,  the  wise  restraint  of  her  gentleness,  and  her 
calm,  equable  disposition  ;  and  to  her  he  credits  his  suc 
cess  in  varied  lines  of  being  and  doing,  while  she  mod 
estly  disclaims  any  hand  in  his  achievements,  and  con 
fesses  herself  proud  of  his  career. 

While  he  remained  at  Flemingsburg  the  church  there 
determined  to  establish  a  college  to  meet  the  demands 
of  Northeastern  Kentucky  for  an  academical  institution. 
Mr.  Brooks  raised  the  money  wherewith  to  erect  the 
necessary  building,  superintended  the  erection  thereof, 
and  turned  it  over  to  the  Board  of  Curators.  Then,  not 
wishing  to  quit  his  chosen  calling,  he  resigned  the  pas 
torate,  that  a  distinguished  educator  might  accept  the 
pastorate  and  the  college  presidency  together,  marrying 
the  salary  of  both  places  ;  but  the  infant  college  was  a 


PASTOR   AND    COLLEGE   PRESIDENT.  279 

failure  the  first  year,  though  equipped  with  a  full  faculty. 
Mr.  Brooks  was  urged  to  take  the  presidency  and  con 
trolling  management,  and  consented,  under  stipulation 
that  he  should  retire  so  soon  as  the  institution  might 
come  to  a  self-sustaining  basis.  This  end  was  achieved 
in  two  years,  when  there  were  two  hundred  students  in 
attendance,  an  able  corps  of  instructors,  and  prosperity 
in  each  department.  It  was  on  account  of  his  success 
here  that  his  Alma  Mater  gave  him  the  honorary  degree 
of  A.M. 

It  was  during  the  first  year  of  the  war  that  Dr.  Brooks 
took  charge  of  this  school.  And  those  were  warm  times 
in  that  neighborhood,  for  Flemingsburg  was  on  debat 
able  ground,  one  day  in  the  Union  lines  and  the  next, 
perchance,  in  the  Confederate.  Both  armies  occupied 
it,  or  contested  for  it,  and  worried  its  inhabitants  with 
their  vacillations.  The  Southern  Methodist  Conference 
met  there  on  one  occasion  when  a  company  of  Union 
soldiers  held  the  town.  Pickets  were  thrown  out  by 
these,  and  all  egress  was  denied,  and  rumor  said  that 
each  member  of  the  conference  would  be  required  to 
take  the  iron-clad  oath  then  provided  for  all  rebels, 
such  as  most  of  those  preachers  were  known  to  be. 

On  Sunday  morning,  as  the  bells  rang  out  their  tune 
ful  call  to  church,  pickets  west  of  town  reported  a  flag 
of  truce,  borne  by  one  Pete  Everett,  who  said  that 
Humphrey  Marshall's  troops  were  just  over  the  hill, 
and  who  in  his  name  demanded  unconditional  surrender 
of  the  place.  The  Federal  commander,  though  uneasy, 
was  brave,  and  gathered  his  little  command  in  the  court 
house  to  make  fight.  Everett,  with  a  score  of  men, 
waited  on  the  hill,  ostensibly  to  hear  from  Marshall's 
force  behind  him,  and  then  issued  an  order  to  clear  the 
town  of  women  and  children,  as  attack  would  begin  in 


280  LIFE    OF    JOHJST    ANDERSOK    BROOKS. 

thirty  minutes.  It  was  all  a  flimsy  ruse,  but  effectual. 
Women  and  children  left  for  the  fields,  and  with  them 
went  those  preachers  who  did  not  wish  to  take  the  hated 
oath.  One  of  them  was  a  guest  of  Dr.  Brooks,  who  has 
never  seen  him  since,  and  who  sometimes  wonders  if  he 
is  fleeing  yet. 

An  incident  of  the  same  period  illustrates  the  grit  in 
and  firmness  of  Dr.  Brooks' s  character.  The  Union 
Legislature  of  Kentucky  had  passed  a  law  compelling  all 
teachers  to  take  an  iron-clad  oath  of  non-sympathy  with 
the  Rebellion.  This  oath  Dr.  Brooks  had  resolved 
never  to  accept,  and  yet  it  embarrassed  him  greatly. 
His  Board  of  Curators  was  composed  of  both  Unionists 
and  rebels,  all  friendly  to  their  president,  and  desirous 
that  he  continue  in  his  position  ;  but  because  he  was  a 
known  rebel  sympathizer,  and  refused  to  swear  other 
wise,  the  Grand  Jury,  then  in  session,  were  about  to  in 
dict  him.  One  of  the  curators,  himself  a  magistrate, 
visited  the  college,  and  informed  Mr.  Brooks  of  the 
proposed  indictment  and  arrest,  and  urged  him  to  take 
the  oath  and  save  trouble.  Looking  him  steadily  in  the 
eye,  Mr.  Brooks  said  : 

11  My  dear  sir,  you  know  me,  and  you  know  that  I  will 
never  take  that  oath.  I  cannot  swear  to  a  lie  ;  I  would 
go  to  prison  first.  My  horse  is  now  saddled,  and  in  two 
minutes  I  will  be  on  his  back,  and  on  my  way  to  Mar 
shall's  army.  I  am  not  going  to  prison  ;  I  will  not  take 
the  oath." 

"  But,"  said  the  curator,  "it  will  ruin  the  college 
and  the  church." 

"So  be  it,"  said  Brooks  ;  "  I  had  rather  ruin  both 
than  to  perjure  my  soul.  But  if  you  are  so  anxious  for 
me  to  stay,  as  you  are  a  magistrate,  I  will  take  an  oath 
such  as  I  may  prescribe  ;  and  you  can  return  to  the 


PASTOR   AND   COLLEGE   PRESIDENT.  281 

Grand  Jury  room  and  say  that  you  have  just  come  from 
the  administration  of  that  oath  to  me  and  thus  stop  pro 
ceedings.  I  will  take  this  oath  :  c  I  solemnly  swear  that 
I  will  support  the  Constitution  of  these  United  States 
and  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  as  long  as  I  am  a  citizen 
of  this  State.' '  And  this  oath,  there  and  then  taken, 
was  the  only  one  to  which  he  ever  subscribed  during  the 
war,  though  the  experience  referred  to  did  not  close  all 
his  difficulties  growing  out  of  secession  sympathy. 

In  1862  the  Union  authorities  in  Kentucky  determined 
summarily  to  arrest  certain  leading  ministers  of  his 
Church,  and  throw  them  into  prison,  as  a  wholesome  les 
son  to  all,  hoping  so  to  check  rebellious  tendencies  and 
weaken  the  Confederate  cause.  The  most  distinguished 
minister  in  the  Church  of  the  Disciples  at  that  time  was 
Dr.  Winthrop  II.  Hopkins,  a  warm  personal  friend  of 
Mr.  Brooks.  Dr.  Hopkins  was  arrested  at  Lexington, 
and  sent  to  the  military  prison  at  Louisville.  On  his 
way  there  he  passed  through  Eminence,  where  Mr. 
Brooks  was  then  preaching,  having  left  Flemingsburg, 
and  shook  hands  with  the  latter  from  the  car-window, 
whispering,  as  he  did  so, 

"  I  am  gone  up,  and  you  are  second  on  the  list." 

Knowing  what  this  meant,  Mr.  Brooks  grew  more 
wary,  and  set  himself  to  avoid  arrest.  Influential  friends 
were  vigilant  in  his  behalf,  and  arranged  to  warn  him 
when  danger  came  near.  Warning  came  on  one  Sunday 
morning  after  his  sermon's  close.  He  was  to  be  arrested 
and  imprisoned  next  day.  That  night  he  slipped  out  of 
town,  and  sought  the  safeguard  of  some  rebel  forces 
then  in  Northeast  Kentucky,  with  whom  he  remained 
awhile,  until  the  excitement  passed  over.  Then  he  re 
turned  and  quietly  resumed  pastoral  duty  in  his  old  field. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  never  an  enlisted  soldier,  though  all 


282  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON    BROOKS. 

his  sympathies  and  hopes  lay  with  the  rebel  side.  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  feed  and  clothe  rebel  soldiers  at  any 
time,  to  nurse  them  when  wounded  and  to  care  for  them 
whenever  in  his  power  ;  and  this,  too,  in  the  face  of 
General  Burnside's  order  making  death  the  penalty  for 
such  aid.  He  believed  they  were  fighting  for  the  rights 
guaranteed  him  and  others  by  the  Constitution,  and  he 
was  as  loyal  to  them  as  he  thought  they  were  loyal  to 
said  rights.  But  it  should  be  said  also  that  he  never 
refused  to  care  for  Federals  in  need,  when  call  was  made 
upon  him  in  their  extremity.  His  humanity  was  not 
less  quick  and  responsive  than  was  his  sectional  feeling 
and  his  love  of  State  rights.  . 

In  1865  Mr.  Brooks  left  Eminence,  where  his  pastor 
ate  was  highly  successful,  and  took  charge  of  the  church 
at  Winchester.  His  Eminence  people  voted  unani 
mously,  save  one  man  out  of  three  hundred,  to  have  him 
remain,  but  Winchester  needed  him.  The  church  there 
was  large,  and  all  broken  up  by  the  war,  having  at  one 
time  both  a  Union  and  a  rebel  preacher.  He  remained 
there  five  years,  and  restored  unity,  church  fellowship, 
and  admirable  religious  feeling.  He  counts  that  pastor 
ate  the  most  fortunate  and  efficient  in  his  experience. 
When  he  retired  from  it,  in  18YO,  to  take  charge  of  the 
First  Christian  Church  in  St.  Louis,  every  member  of 
his  congregation  protested.  The  love  between  pastor 
and  people  was  there  something  uncommon,  and  very 
beautiful  to  see.  He  had  brought  them  all  into  the 
fruits  of  Gospel  peace.  They  were  loth  to  bid  him 
good-by.  Nothing  but  his  long  desire  to  make  a  resi 
dence  in  the  West,  and  the  opening  there  of  wider  fields 
of  usefulness,  induced  him  to  sever  the  ties  so  dearly 
cherished  and  so  binding,  yet  he  has  never  regretted 
the  change. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MASTER    WORKMAN    AND    PROHIBITION    LEADER. 

IN  the  eighteen  years  since  his  removal  to  Missouri, 
Dr.  Brooks  has  held  successful  pastorates  in  St.  Louis, 
Mexico,  Warrensburg,  and  Belton,  and  now  has  charge 
of  the  Independence  Avenue  Christian  Church  at  Kansas 
City.  He  has  also  done  wide  evangelistic  work,  bap 
tizing  many  thousand  converts.  For  three  successive 
years  he  presided  over  the  General  Conference  of  his 
Church  in  Missouri,  and  with  entire  satisfaction.  It  is 
said,  to-day,  by  those  who  should  know,  that  no  man  in 
the  denomination  of  Disciples,  in  that  whole  State, 
wields  greater  influence,  or  carries  more  weight  than 
he.  His  activities  have  been  ever  varied,  and  his  ener 
gies  always  aggressive.  He  has  not  stood  content  with 
moderate  effort  and  average  returns.  His  native  desire 
to  push  forward  and  achieve  mastery  has  never  left  him. 
He  was  born  to  keep  in  the  front  rank. 

His  inclination  to  reach  out  in  many  ways  early  iden 
tified  him  with  organizations  outside  the  Church.  One 
of  these,  and  the  one  which  he  holds  in  warmest  regard, 
is  known  as  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
It  is  reputed  the  oldest  benevolent  institution,  or  order, 
in  the  country,  as  it  is  numerically  the  largest.  Its 
geographical  jurisdiction  extends  all  over  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  it  disburses  annually  two  mill 
ions  of  dollars  to  the  widowed  and  fatherless.  It  is  a 
mighty  brotherhood.  Dr.  Brooks  has  been  a  member 


284  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON"   BROOKS. 

of  the  supreme  body — the  law-making  power — several 
years,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  shaping  its  polity 
and  moulding  its  administration. 

It  does  not  exist  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  a  secret 
order,  but  is  purely  benevolent.  As  such  it  had  a  gen 
uine  "  boorn"  in  Missouri,  beginning  about  the  time  of 
Dr.  Brooks's  early  active  connection  with  it.  In  1877 
there  were  but  twenty  lodges  in  the  State  ;  the  next 
year  these  and  their  membership  had  doubled.  He  was 
chosen  Grand  Foreman  in  1879,  and  Grand  Master 
Workman  in  1880,  since  which  time  he  has  attended 
every  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Lodge.  In  1886  he  was 
unanimously  elected  Supreme  Master  Workman — the 
head  of  the  entire  order — and  his  administration  was  one 
of  the  most  successful  ever  attained  in  the  history  of  the 
organization.  He  regards  his  elevation  to  the  Supreme 
Mastership  as  one  of  the  greatest  honors  ever  conferred 
upon  him,  and  holds  himself  at  the  order's  call  for  ser 
vice  and  sacrifice  whenever  he  is  needed. 

As  has  been  said,  his  temperance  efforts  began  when 
he  was  very  young.  After  his  early  identification  with 
the  Sons  of  Temperance,  he  became  a  Good  Templar, 
and  was  conspicuously  active  in  that  temperance  order, 
often  appearing  on  the  floor  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

When  "  the  Murphy  movement  "  struck  Missouri,  in 
'78  and  '79,  Dr.  Brooks  threw  himself  into  it  with  his 
accustomed  zeal,  and  his  appeals  in  behalf  of  total  ab 
stinence  were  most  effective.  Up  to  that  time  all  his 
temperance  activities  had  been  along  the  old  lines  of 
moral  suasion  ;  he  had  never  thought  much  about  the 
legal  side  of  this  reform.  But  the  more  he  labored  to 
save  men  from  their  cups,  the  more  futile  appeared  such 
labor  with  the  saloon  left  unmolested,  the  more  imper 
ative  did  it  become,  in  his  opinion,  to  prohibit  the  liquor 


MASTER    WORKMAN   AND   PROHIBITION   LEADER.     285 

traffic.  Thinking  so,  and  feeling  always  intensely  what 
he  thought,  he  began  talking  his  mind  rather  freely  in 
the  "  Murphy  meetings,"  much  to  the  consternation  of 
those  mild-mannered  temperance  evangelists  whose  motto 
was,  "  With  charity  for  all  and  malice  toward  none," 
and  whose  methods  meant  no  harm  to  saloon-keepers. 
Naturally  they  came  to  disparage  his  utterances,  and  be 
tween  him  and  them  there  has  been  no  real  fellowship 
since.  Perhaps,  like  the  craftsmen  of  Ephesus,  they 
feared  the  ruin  of  their  business  if  Prohibition  doctrine 
should  prevail. 

But  moral  suasion  talk  led  naturally  to  legal  suasion 
endeavor.  Months  of  agitation  through  Missouri  re 
sulted  in  the  published  call  for  a  convention,  to  meet  in 
Sedalia,  July  4th,  1880  ;  and  to  this  convention,  when 
held,  came  twenty-five  delegates,  who  organized  the 
Prohibition  State  Alliance,  and  chose  Dr.  Brooks  Presi 
dent.  With  this  organization  began  the  real  battle 
against  liquor  in  Missouri,  and  it  has  not  ceased  a  day 
since. 

Preaching  on  Sundays  to  his  charge  at  Mexico,  Dr. 
Brooks  travelled  from  one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other, 
arguing  for  Prohibition  from  the  time  that  alliance  was 
formed  ;  and  the  first  result  was  a  Legislature  elected 
under  pledge  to  submit  a  Prohibitory  Constitutional 
Amendment  to  the  people.  And  submission  would  have 
followed,  but  for  the  management  of  party  leaders, 
speaking  from  Washington  by  command  of  Mr.  Schade, 
the  brewers'  attorney,  kept  there  at  national  head 
quarters  under  large  pay.  The  amendment  was  de 
feated  for  lack  of  a  few  votes  in  the  Upper  House,  as 
has  happened  more  than  once  in  Legislatures  not  Dem 
ocratic,  at  the  North.  The  national  party's  necessity 
compelled  submission's  defeat ;  and  why  those  few 


286  LIFE   OF   JOHN    ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

votes  were  lacking  in  the  Missouri  Senate,  some  Dem 
ocratic  politicians  and  certain  Republican  brewers  could 
tell,  if  so  disposed. 

There  was  increased  Prohibition  sentiment  in  the 
Democratic  Party,  as  nobody  could  doubt ;  and  this 
fact  greatly  encouraged  Dr.  Brooks,  while  it  as  greatly 
alarmed  the  liquor  men.  Earnestly  believing  that  polit 
ical  leaders  must  respect  the  popular  will,  the  alliance 
met  in  1882,  at  Cameron,  and  resolved  to  push  on  agi 
tation  and  the  manufacture  of  Prohibition  sentiment 
with  greater  zeal,  determined  to  secure  the  next  General 
Assembly,  beyond  any  peradventure,  and  force  their 
pet  measure  through.  Of  course  the  brewers  took  fresh 
alarm,  and  Senator  Vest,  in  their  interest,  took  the  field 
to  down  Prohibition.  So  taking  the  field,  he  took  open 
issue  with  his  party  ;  for  the  Democrats,  in  convention 
assembled  that  season,  had  resolved,  "  That  we  favor 
the  largest  liberty  consistent  with  the  public  good." 
And  this  inoffensive  utterance  was  regarded  by  Dr. 
Brooks  and  his  coadjutors  as  a  temperance  plank  ;  in 
deed,  it  was  so  regarded  by  the  liquor  side. 

Three  influences  or  agencies  were  employed  to  bring 
the  Democratic  Party  back  into  line  with  the  brewers  : 

1.  High  license,  as  a  professed  temperance  measure. 

2.  Mr.  Vest,  as  the  eloquent  advocate  of  the  brewers. 

3.  Personal  abuse  of  Dr.  Brooks,  as  the  wretch  who, 
under  the  guise  of  temperance  and  morality,  had  turned 
the  party  over  to  the  Republican  theory  of  Prohibition. 

These  influences  were  expected  to  stop  the  Prohibition 
craze,  to  cool  the  heads  of  fanatical  reformers,  and  to 
perpetuate  the  liquor  system  securely.  They  were 
worked  for  all  they  were  worth,  and  the  Missouri  State 
campaign  of  1882  went  upon  record  as  remarkable  in 
many  ways.  Senator  Vest  and  Dr.  Brooks  were  squarely 


MASTER    WORKMAN    AHD    PROHIBITION    LEADER.     287 

pitted  against  each  other  inside  the  Democratic  Party  ; 
for  Mr.  Vest  planted  himself  on  the  national  platform 
of  that  party,  arid  Dr.  Brooks  put  both  feet  on  the  State 
platform,  as  everywhere  interpreted  for  temperance, 
and  their  long  debate  came  to  be  ranked  with  that  of 
Benton  and  Shannon,  in  Missouri,  and  of  Lincoln  and 
Douglas,  in  Illinois,  on  the  earlier  great  reform.  Mr. 
Test  was  witty,  sarcastic,  fiery,  and  eloquent,  but  unac 
quainted  with  the  history  and  philosophy  of  Prohibi 
tion  ;  while  Dr.  Brooks  added  to  like  platform  gifts 
close  familiarity  with  his  theme,  and  the  advantage  of 
approaching  it  upon  high  moral  and  religious  ground. 
It  is  probable  that  never,  in  his  most  combative  earlier 
years,  did  Dr.  Brooks  covet  a  wider  field  for  controver 
sial  exercise  than  was  now  afforded  him,  and  he  enjoyed 
it  to  the  utmost.  He  blazed  across  the  State  like  a  hot 
cyclone.  He  amazed  his  opponent,  who  had  made  the 
serious  mistake  of  underestimating  his  abilities  ;  and  he 
never  failed  to  down  Mr.  Yest  before  a  fair  audience. 

Again,  a  submission  Legislature  was  elected  ;  again, 
the  people  looked  to  their  representatives  for  honest 
service  in  legislative  halls  ;  again,  the  liquor  powers 
forced  party  managers  to  do  their  will.  High  license 
was  sprung  upon  them,  as  being,  with  the  brewers,  a 
choice  between  ills  ;  and  members  of  the  Legislature 
known  to  be  temperance  men,  and  chosen  representa 
tives  as  such  on  the  distinct  issue  up,  snatched  at  any  ex 
cuse  to  serve  party  ends,  voted  for  the  sham,  and  made 
it  Missouri's  policy.  Dr.  Brooks  opposed  it  with  all  his 
might,  declared  it  a  subterfuge  and  a  cheat ;  but  the 
party  decree  had  gone  forth,  Democracy  must  nowhere 
be  committed  to  Prohibition,  the  people  must  not  rule, 
the  commands  of  the  brewers  must  be  obeyed. 

It  is  true  that  some  noble  and  influential  Democrats 


288  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSOK   BROOKS. 

held  with  Dr.  Brooks  in  this  contest,  and  did  most  val 
iantly  assail  the  saloon.  Among  them  were  Mr.  J.  M. 
McMichael,  Colonel  William  F.  Switzler,  Governor 
Charles  P.  Johnson,  and  Governor  B.  Gratz  Brown. 
And  concurring  in  their  judgment,  loth  to  leave  the 
party  they  upheld,  Dr.  Brooks  and  his  colleagues  of  the 
State  Alliance  agreed  to  continue  the-  fight  along  its  old 
lines,  and  pull  true  as  Democrats  yet  another  year. 
The  alliance  met  at  Warrensburg  that  fall  of  1883,  and 
was  welcomed  by  Miss  Lida  Brooks.  Dr.  Brooks,  in 
his  annual  address,  reviewed  the  progress  of  Prohibition 
effort  in  behalf  of  constitutional  amendments  wherever 
proposed,  citing  Oregon,  Maine,  Ohio,  Iowa,  Texas, 
Missouri,  Indiana,  and  West  Virginia,  and  briefly  stat 
ing  what  causes  led  to  the  defeat  of  submission  in  some 
States  and  the  partial  or  complete  failure  of  submission, 
when  before  the  people,  in  others,  and  speaking  more 
in  detail  of  Missouri  and  of  their  late  failure  before  the 
Legislature,  he  declared  : 

"Two  successive  Legislatures  had  refused  to  submit  the  amend 
ment  to  the  voters  of  the  State,  and  that,  too,  in  the  face  of  a  demand 
for  submission  such  as  had  never  been  manifested  before.  This  re 
peated  unwillingness  to  trust  the  people  aroused  an  indignation  which 
made  itself  felt  in  every  part  of  the  State.  Under  the  influence  of 
this  spirit  the  last  Democratic  Convention  assembled  in  Jefferson 
City.  The  .Republican  brewers  of  St.  Louis  had  entered  into  a  con 
tract  with  Democratic  leaders  to  transfer  their  vote  to  the  Democratic 
Party,  and  to  give  it  a  solid  Democratic  delegation  to  Congress  upon 
condition  that  the  Democracy  of  the  State  would  antagonize  submis 
sion  and  Prohibition  ;  they  to  furnish  the  sinews  of  war  and  the 
leaders  to  arrange  matters  in  the  Democratic  camp.  With  this 
understanding  the  Democratic  delegation  appeared  at  Jefferson  City, 
demanding  an  anti -Prohibition  plank  in  the  platform  to  be  adopted. 
This  was  refused  by  the  decisive  vote  of  82  to  21.  While  this  vote 
was  not  an  absolute  test  of  the  submission  strength  in  the  conven 
tion,  yet  friend  and  foe  recognized  it  as  the  triumph  of  submission- 
ists  in  the  party.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Eepublican  Convention 


MASTER   WORKMAN"   AND    PROHIBITION   LEADER.     289 

convening  afterward  in  the  same  city,  at  the  dictation  of  the  same 
brewers,  declared  in  favor  of  high  license,  the  chair  arbitrarily  ruling 
out  a  motion  to  amend." 

Then  Dr.  Brooks  went  on  to  show  how,  with  the 
party  overwhelmingly  for  submission,  the  brewers  cap 
tured  the  party's  executive,  placed  that  and  Mr.  Yest 
upon  the  national  platform,  and  made  the  State  fight  as 
shown,  and  how  these  brewers,  failing  before  the  people, 
were  again  successful  in  fixing  things  with  the  Legisla 
ture  to  their  entire  satisfaction.  "  Principle,  honor, 
and  country  all  went  down,' '  he  declared,  "  in  the  eager 
contest  for  the  vote  of  the  saloon-keeper."  He  was 
evidently  sick  of  the  whole  Democratic  situation,  as  de 
termined  by  Democratic  leadership. 

He  grew  sicker  yet.  For  in  a  few  months  it  became 
evident  that  acknowledged  leaders  were  bound  to  com 
mit  the  State  party  to  its  national  saloon  policy  without 
reserve,  and  that  General  Marmaduke,  a  violent  opposer 
of  Prohibition  in  speech  and  personal  habit,  was  to  be 
made  the  party's  candidate  for  governor,  in  open  align 
ment  with  that  policy.  On  behalf  of  the  alliance,  after 
no  doubt  could  be  entertained  of  the  Democratic  plan, 
Dr.  Brooks  interviewed  leading  Republicans,  to  see  if 
they  would  not  declare  for  Prohibition,  and  either  nom 
inate  some  Prohibition  Democrat,  like  ex-Lieutenant- 
Governor  Johnson  or  Governor  Brown,  or  make  no 
nomination  and  allow  such  a  nominee  to  be  put  up  by 
Prohibitionists  and  pledge  him  their  support. 

In  accordance  with  this  appeal,  leading  Republicans 
held  a  conference  at  St.  Louis,  where  the  Democratic 
Prohibition  element  had  representation  through  Judge 
James  Baker.  The  decision  was  to  stand  by  the  brew 
ers.  "  We  have  little  Republican  strength  outside  St. 
Louis,"  said  the  leaders  of  that  faith,  "  and  here  our 


290  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

strength  lies  with  the  brewing  class.  We  should  lose 
that  were  we  to  espouse  temperance."  Thus  reasoning, 
they  declined  to  accept  the  suggestions  made  ;  and  for 
Dr.  Brooks,  Judge  Baker,  Governor  Johnson,  and 
others  who  believed  with  them,  there  was  left  only  the 
alternative  of  a  new  party  relation,  or  open  support  of 
Marmaduke  and  the  saloons.  Against  this  latter  course 
conscience  and  patriotism  made  revolt  ;  and  they  issued 
the  call  for  a  convention,  to  meet  at  Sedalia,  August 
19th,  1884. 

Radical  State  Prohibitionists,  in  favor  of  the  National 
Prohibition  Party  and  its  candidates,  had  already  called 
a  convention  to  meet  in  Sedalia  that  day,  and  both  calls 
brought  together  a  fine  assemblage  of  men  and  women 
numbering  nearly  five  hundred.  Though  they  met  in 
separate  halls,  they  were  in  hearty  accord  on  the  matter 
of  State  action,  and  differed  only  as  to  endorsing  a 
national  ticket.  A  Committee  of  Conference  was  ap 
pointed  by  each  body,  and  their  proceedings  went  for 
ward  in  close  harmony.  After  much  enthusiastic  discus 
sion,  and  encouraging  reports  from  the  entire  State,  both 
bodies  nominated  Dr.  Brooks  for  governor,  and  the 
issue  of  Prohibition  was  fairly  and  permanently  made  in 
Democratic  Missouri. 

On  September  6th  Dr.  Brooks  formally  accepted  this 
nomination,  in  a  letter  which  pungeiitly  told  many 
truths.  Among  other  things,  he  said  : 

"  There  can  be  no  question  in  the  mind  of  any  intel 
ligent  citizen  of  the  Republic,  that  the  permanency  and 
stability  of  our  form  of  government  depends  upon  the 
intelligence  and  morality  of  the  voter." 

And  after  further  utterance  like  this,  he  asked  : 

"  Shall  the  Church  and  school,  or  the  saloon  and  beer- 
garden,  educate  the  future  voters  of  the  Republic  ?" 


MASTER   WORKMAN   AND    PROHIBITION   LEADER.     291 

The  campaign  which  followed  was  hot  and  unsparing. 
Dr.  Brooks  had  burned  his  Democratic  bridges  behind 
him.  He  had  fine  opportunity  to  lash  the  opposition, 
for  General  Marmaduke,  the  Democratic  candidate,  was 
a  known  user  of  liquors,  and  Mr.  Ford,  the  Eepublican 
nominee,  was  a  wholesale  whiskey-seller.  But  the  Pro 
hibition  candidate  held  himself  on  the  high  plane  of 
principle,  and  made  his  canvass  tell  mightily  for  clean 
politics,  honest  party  methods,  and  the  election  of  pure 
men.  In  forty  days  he  spoke  in  forty  counties,  and 
from  two  to  four  hours  a  day.  He  was  much  assailed, 
but  his  record  could  not  be  impeached. 

The  election  returns  gave  Mr.  Cleveland  30,000  ma 
jority,  while  Marmaduke  ran  in,  as  by  the  skin  of  his 
teeth,  on  a  pitiful  margin  of  420.  Ford  led  his  ticket 
by  about  5000.  By  the  count  of  returning  boards  Dr. 
Brooks  was  given  10,500  votes,  but  it  was  discovered 
afterward  that  in  some  counties  the  Prohibition  vote  was 
thrown  out  bodily,  and  some  have  believed  that  the 
vote  so  disallowed  would  have  exceeded  the  vote  re 
turned.  Clearly,  the  Republicans  who  had  so  professed 
temperance  did  not  support  Brooks  ;  indeed,  their  great 
organ,  the  Globe- Democrat,  had  advised  them  all  to  stand 
by  Ford. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NOMINATED   FOR   THE    VICE-PKESIDENCY. 

THE  campaign  of  1884  brought  Dr.  Brooks  into  con 
spicuous  prominence,  and  the  national  leaders  of  Pro 
hibition  came  to  look  upon  him  as  the  natural  head  of 
their  forces  through  the  Southwest.  In  1886  he  was 
appointed  Southwestern  District  Agent  for  the  National 
Prohibition  Bureau,  and  as  such  he  visited  Arkansas, 
Texas,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee,  doing  effi 
cient  service  for  the  cause.  A  former  slave-holder,  and 
a  life-long  Democrat,  he  could  appeal  to  Southern  reason 
with  less  of  prejudice  against  him  than  met  the  North 
ern  Prohibitionist  going  there.  He  also  visited  the 
Eastern  States  during  camp  season,  and  appeared  upon 
various  platforms  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

At  the  great  National  Convention  in  Indianapolis,  he 
was  from  the  outset  regarded  as  more  certain  than  any 
other  man  to  be  nominated  with  General  Fisk.  When 
roll-call  was  progressing  by  States  for  a  Vice-Presidential 
candidate,  Mr.  George  C.  Christian,  an  ex-Kentuckian 
of  Illinois,  eloquently  presented  his  name,  summarizing 
what  these  pages  have  shown  about  him,  and  referring 
to  him  as  "  the  peer  of  any  man  in  statesmanship,  in 
loyalty,  and  in  Christian  character."  His  nomination 
was  seconded  by  Mrs.  Clara  Hoffman,  President  of  the 
Missouri  State  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
in  these  words  : 

"  MB.  PRESIDENT  :  I  am  glad  and  happy  to  be  chosen  to  voice  the 
unanimous  sentiment  of  the  delegation  of  Missouri  for  the  candidate 


NOMINATED   FOR  THE  VICE-PRESIDENCY.  293 

that  has  been  brought  forward — my  brother,  Dr.  John  A.  Brooks. 
[Applause.]  Having  worked  side  by  side  with  him  for  five  years  in 
the  State  of  Missouri,  one  of  the  most  difficult  States  that  we  have  to 
work  in  ;  one  of  the  border  States,  you  will  remember  ;  having 
worked  with  him  side  by  side  to  break  down  the  aristocracy  of  rum, 
and  to  break  down  the  prejudice  that  had  been  built  up  and  main 
tained  against  Prohibition  or  anything  looking  toward  Prohibition  ; 
against  the  voice  of  woman  being  heard  upon  the  platform  or  any 
where  outside  of  her  home,  even  though  it  were  heard  in  entreaty 
for  protection  to  her  home — I  say,  having  worked  side  by  side  with 
John  A.  Brooks  during  these  years,  I  stand  here  prepared  to  speak  of 
his  worth,  of  his  ability,  of  his  loyalty,  of  his  courage,  of  his  match 
less  eloquence,  which  against  all  the  odds  that  he  had  to  meet  in  the 
State  of  Missouri  he  was  able  to  overcome,  taking  a  great  Democratic 
majority,  a  great  arrogant  majority,  a  great  aristocratic  majority  in 
that  State,  and  reducing  it  to  a  mere  pitiful  plurality  in  one  cam 
paign,  never  rivalled  since  the  matchless  campaign  made  by  Thomas 
Benton  in  that  State.  I  come  here  to  stand  for  and  second  the  nom 
ination  of  Dr.  John  A.  Brooks,  because  I  know  of  his  Christian  char 
acter,  because  I  know  of  his  loyalty  to  the  Prohibition  Party,  because 
I  know  how  he  set  the  wheel  in  motion  in  that  State  by  his  earnest, 
constant  work  with  the  Legislature  ;  and  I  am  proud  to  stand  here  be 
fore  you  to-night  and  say  that  no  man,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  nor  from 
the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  can  be  found  worthier  to  bear  our  stand 
ard  on  to  victory  than  this  man.  I  come  to  second  that  nomination, 
because  I  know  that  here  we  shall  truly  have  a  union  in  our  stand 
ard-bearers—a  true  union  that  shall  unite  North  and  South,  and 
East  and  West  —that  shall  be  the  union  so  touchingly  spoken  of  here 
last  night  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray.  And  I  trust  that  this  nomina 
tion  will  receive  the  unanimous  indorsement  of  this  most  magnifi 
cent  convention."  [Applause.] 

New  York's  total  vote  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
was  thrown  for  Dr.  Brooks,  and  his  nomination  followed 
finally  by  acclamation.  He  was  called  on  for  a  speech, 
and  roused  his  hearers,  if  possible,  to  a  higher  pitch  of 
enthusiasm  than  they  had  known  since  the  outbreak  over 
General  Fisk's  nomination  ceased,  an  hour  before.  In 
part,  he  said  : 

"  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to-night  to  express  to  you  my  feel 
ings  upon  this  occasion.  Having  placed  at  the  head  of  your  ticket 


294  LIFE   OF   JOHN   ANDERSON   BROOKS. 

that  peerless  American  statesman,  the  pride  not  only  of  New  Jersey 
but  of  this  country,  and  especially  of  my  adopted  State,  of  which  he 
was  so  long  a  citizen,  by  your  sufferance  to-night  and  your  partiality 
I  shall  believe,  you  have  placed  me  with  him  upon  this  ticket.  I 
confess  to  you  to-night  that  but  one  man  in  all  America  has  been 
honored  more,  or"  can  be  honored  more  on  this  continent,  than  he 
who  speaks  to  you,  and  that  man  is  Clinton  B.  Fisk.  I  had  rather 
stand  to-night  indorsed  by  this  body  of  my  country  men  as  its  candi 
date,  without  the  faintest  semblance  of  a  hope  of  election,  than  to  be 
indorsed  as  the  candidate  of  both  the  old  parties  put  together.  [Ap 
plause.]  And  as  I  stand,  my  countrymen,  under  that  motto,  I  want 
to  emphasize,  with  all  the  heart  that  I  have,  those  precious  truths 
which  it  enunciates.  Standing  as  I  do,  looking  back  upon  half  a 
century  gone,  looking  over  the  education  and  training  of  early  life, 
the  conditions  that  surrounded  that  life,  the  dark  cloud  of  sectional 
ism  that  arose  and  the  final  baptism  of  blood  and  fire  that  swept  over 
my  section,  I  want  to  stand  to-night  in  this  presence  in  the  hope  be 
fore  God  that  this  sectionalism  is  buried,  and  buried  forever.  [Ap 
plause.] 

"  Cradled  in  the  lap  of  human  slavery,  brought  up  under  its  fos 
tering  care,  it  is  not  strange  that  I,  in  the  morning  of  life,  felt,  in 
common  with  my  section,  that  I  was  not  half  so  great  a  sinner  as  I 
now  know  myself  to  have  been  ;  and  if  you  think  that  is  strange, 
you  have  only  to  look  around  upon  these  Republicans  and  Democrats 
who  continue  to  be  such  awful  sinners  in  the  presence  of  the  light  of 
this  day  in  which  we  live.  [Applause.] 

"  When  the  war  had  closed  and  I  had  time  to  look  around,  I  re 
membered  one  precious  utterance  from  that  Book  of  books  which 
you  and  I  love  so  much  and  revere,  that  no  murderer  can  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  that  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  a  mur 
derer.  I  hated  some  of  you  with  all  the  hatred  that  I  had  or  was 
capable  of,  and  when  these  clouds  cleared  away,  I  said  :  *  My  God  ! 
I  want  at  last  to  enter  the  portals  of  the  skies,  and  by  the  grace  of 
God  I  will  tear  from  my  heart  the  sectionalism  of  the  past.'  But  if 
I  had  not  succeeded,  before  God  and  the  Judgment  I  would  not  want 
to  act  as  do  these  extremists  North  and  South,  and  hand  that  hatred 
as  a  bloody  heritage  down  to  my  posterity  and  close  the  gates  of 
heaven  against  them. 

"  I  remember,  some  years  since,  to  have  stood  upon  the  Common 
of  Boston  in  the  presence  of  a  bronze  statue.  There  stood  the  great 
Commoner.  At  his  feet  a  slave  was  chained,  and  in  his  hand  was  a 
hatchet  or  an  axe  that  was  falling  to  break  the  chain  of  the  slave.  I 


NOMINATED   FOB  THE   VICE-PRESIDENCY.  295 

was  all  alone.  I  stopped  and  looked  up  into  his  face,  and  the  mem 
ories  of  a  lifetime  flooded  through  my  mind.  I  was  back  again  in 
the  arms  of  my  old  negro  mammy  in  the  South,  playing  with  her 
children  upon  the  green,  romping  with  them  and  sharing  with  them 
their  sorrows  and  joys,  realizing  that  they  would  have  died  for  me,  if 
need  be.  I  saw  as  I  grew  up  in  life  the  agitation  that  sprang  up  in 
this  nation  over  that  institution,  and  I  saw  the  little  speck  of  cloud 
as  it  gathered  in  its  majesty  and  broke  upon  my  section  with  all  the 
fury  of  internecine  war.  I  saw  the  battle  and  heard  the  groans  of 
the  dying,  the  whistle  of  the  shell  and  the  rattle  of  musketry,  and  I 
saw  my  country  baptized  in  the  blood  of  my  section.  But  I  looked 
into  the  face  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  I  said  :  '  Sir,  on  that  question 
of  slavery  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  I  want  to  say  to  you 
now,  that  while  I  was  as  honest  and  sincere  as  any  man  living,  you 
were  right  and  I  was  wrong.'  [Great  applause.] 

"  But  I  want  to  say  to  you  another  thing  ;  I  do  not  want  to  deceive 
you,  my  countrymen.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  there  are  sad  mem 
ories  among  our  people.  We  were  whipped.  Sam  Jones  says  that 
you  say  you  whipped  us,  but  that  is  a  mistake  ;  we  simply  wore  our 
selves  out  trying  to  whip  you.  But  whether  that  be  true  or  not,  we 
were  whipped,  and  we  went  back  to  our  desolation  and  to  our  homes 
under  such  conditions,  loyal,  as  Mr.  Small  said  to-night,  loyal 
throughout  the  South  to  the  flag  of  our  country  and  to  the  Union 
that  is  restored  forever.  But,  my  countrymen,  there  are  sad  mem 
ories  that  linger  back  in  those  days  of  trial.  And  when  an  old  man — 
in  his  dotage  now— like  Jefferson  Davis,  who  led  a  forlorn  hope,  goes 
out  from  home  a  few  miles,  and  some  old  comrade  that  was  with  him 
upon  the  battlefield  gets  out  an  old  rebel  flag,  and  they  fall  upon  it 
and  kiss  it,  does  that  indicate,  as  some  of  our  friends  up  North  would 
seem  to  think,  when  they  paw  the  earth  like  wild  bulls  from  Bashan, 
that  the  South  is  in  rebellion  again  ?  No,  sir  !  In  God's  name  let 
these  old  men,  as  they  think  of  their  fallen  comrades,  shed  a  tear  of 
sympathy  at  their  graves  ;  but  those  who  wore  the  '  Gray '  are  with 
you  upon  the  living  issues  of  this  hour,  and  would  go  into  the  battle 
field  and  die  for  this  Union  and  for  its  redemption  from  the  hands 
of  men  who  would  injure  it." 

At  tlie  immense  meeting  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House,  June  22d,  when  the  formal  tender  of  his  nomi 
nation  was  made  by  lion.  W.  J.  Groo,  he  delivered  a 
powerful  address  of  acceptance,  and  immediately  set  out 
upon  his  campaign. 


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LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-25m-6,'66(G385os4)45S 


N9  532209 


Hopkins,  A. A* 

The  life  of  Clinton 
Bowen  Fisk. 


E664 

F53 

H7 


IN  CASE. 

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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
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